Book of Blood
by GameofThrawns
Summary: After a century of bloody conflict, the Avatar, the master of the four elements destined to restore balance to the world, has returned But the Avatar is a mere boy, and the ruthless Fire Nation will not be denied victory. A slightly altered, possibly darker novelization of Book One: Water. Not the most original idea, but it's my first fanfic! All advice/criticism welcome!
1. The Iceberg

_Water. Earth. Fire. Air. My grandmother used to tell me stories about the old days: a time of peace when the Avatar kept balance between the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation and Air Nomads. But that all changed when the Fire Nation attacked. Only the Avatar mastered all four elements; only he could stop the ruthless firebenders. But when the world needed him most, he vanished. A hundred years have passed, and the Fire Nation is nearing victory in the war. Two years ago, my father and the men of my tribe journeyed to the Earth Kingdom to help fight against the Fire Nation, leaving me and my brother to look after our tribe. Some people believe that the Avatar was never reborn into the Air Nomads and that the cycle is broken, but I haven't lost hope. I still believe that, somehow, the Avatar will return to save the world._

* * *

Katara sometimes wondered if _she_ was the Avatar. It was pure fantasy, of course, one of many ridiculous ideas that she had loudly concluded long ago to be beneath her. Yet if she couldn't _be_ the Avatar, perhaps it was still possible that she would be the one to find him. Or her. Become his apprentice of sorts. She gazed at the floating mountains of soulless ice around her. Oh what she would do for _any_ excuse to visit some place up north, somewhere with a warmer Sun and less snow!

A subtle shift in the balance of the canoe snapped Katara out of her blasphemous daydreams. Sitting at the other end of the simple boat was her brother, his whole body slightly leaning into the ocean, spear at the ready.

"It's not getting away from me this time," Sokka muttered for what must've been the sixth time that day. He glanced over his shoulder at his sister, a huge dung-eating grin on his face. "Watch and learn, Katara. _This_ is how you catch a fish."

Katara sighed, certain that he would miss again. She turned back to her side of the boat and stared at the passing ice, noting with some worry that they were perhaps floating too far away from the village. It would be best to turn ba-

Katara's eyes widened with sudden excitement as the dark silhouette of a fish slithered out from beneath the canoe and into her field of vision. She shot a quick glance at her oblivious brother as she slipped the glove off her left hand. Taking a deep breath, she stretched out her arm towards the fish and began to slowly wave her ungloved hand up and down.

At first, the water struggled to obey her commands, ripples forming unnaturally over the fish as it weaved around the boat in confusion. But it quickly learned of its master's true intentions, and with a final upward flick of the wrist, Katara's prey found itself suspended helplessly in a rising bubble of water.

Katara stifled a giggle. "Hey, Sokka..." she said.

Sokka was still wholly focused on his prey, barely aware of his surroundings. "Shut up, you're gonna scare it away," he whispered furiously. "Mmmm...I can smell it cooking."

Katara maintained her grip on the water bubble, now using both her arms to shift it squarely above Sokka. Despite being a year older than her, he was somehow always so... _moronic_ sometimes. "But Sokka, I caught..."

Sokka raised his spear for the kill, piercing the floating bubble over him in the process. Katara felt her intangible connection with the water melt away, and the bubble seemed to shatter into a rain of cold saltwater that assaulted Sokka from above. The fish landed on the canoe, but it had already flopped off the canoe to freedom by the time Sokka roared out his first "HEY!"

He tossed his spear aside and made a few more incoherent noises of frustration before finally putting his thoughts into words. "Why is it that every time _you_ play with magic water, _I_ get soaked?"

Katara crossed her arms. "It's called waterbending! And it's..."

"Yeah, yeah, 'an ancient art unique to our culture' blah blah blah..." Sokka grabbed the wet clump of hair that was his warrior's wolf knot and wrung the water out of it in disgust. He stopped mid-wring and smiled at something in the water, undoubtedly his own reflection. "Look, I'm just saying, you've got some weird powers, and..."

Katara raised an eyebrow. "You're calling _me_ weird?" she scoffed. "I don't make muscles at myself every time I see my reflection in the water!"

Her brother's smile disappeared. "No, seriously, the Fire Nation..."

She barely caught Sokka as the canoe suddenly lurched violently and began accelerating at a dangerous pace. He quickly recovered, snatched up the paddle, and began working furiously to steer the fragile boat as ice floes zipped by them.

"Left!" Katara shouted. "Left, left...right...left!" Everything was beginning to spiral out of control, the rapid current growing ever-increasingly agitated.

Someone screamed "Jump!", though whether it was her own voice or her brother's she wasn't quite sure. Wood snapped, ice cracked, and Katara flailed her arms as the world spun into a dark abyss...

* * *

...When Sokka finally came to, he found himself staring at a hard, thin sheet of white snow. He quickly but carefully lifted himself from the cold surface, his eyes drinking in his surroundings, his body feeling the ice supporting him bobbing up and down ever so slightly. Katara was near the other end of the floe, groaning as she slowly awoke. An iceberg towered behind her, silently mocking the two stranded children.

So they were on drift ice, somehow. For how long? He glanced up at the Sun, noting its position. Not too long, only a few seconds, judging by the wooden scraps that were once the canoe floating about. Spear? Probably still sinking into the abyss, and the paddle likely met the same fate. War club? Sokka checked the sheath tied to his waist and sighed in relief. At least _something_ useful survived.

Katara turned to Sokka, bitterly brushing white powder off her fur coat. "You call that _left_?" she hissed.

Anger stirred inside Sokka. "You don't like my steering? Maybe you should've, I dunno, _waterbended_ us out of the ice."

His sister scrambled to her feet. "So it's _my_ fault?" she asked indignantly.

Sokka replied with a dismissive wave and began mindlessly poking at a large hole in the floe that had caught his interest. "I knew I should've left you home," he said. "What a great help! Leave it to a girl to screw things up!" With that, he quickly turned his back on her, suddenly realizing his mistake, and braced for impact.

"You are the most sexist, immature, nut-brained..." Katara began. Sure enough, Sokka could hear the waves crashing against the floe growing larger with each pass. "I'm...I'm embarrassed to be related to you!"

Something let out a terrible _crack_ , and Sokka spun back to face Katara with as blank of an expression as he could muster. Her face was pure rage, but what terrified him more was the iceberg behind her. Did it just...

"Ever since mom died," she said, pointing to herself, " _I've_ been doing all the real work around camp while _you've_ been off playing soldier!"

Katara swung her hand for emphasis, sending a surge of water for emphasis. The iceberg let out another cracking sound, but she didn't seem to notice. Sokka's blank face melted into one of horror. _Oh fuck._

"Uh...K-Katara..." he stuttered, pointing at the iceberg behind her.

She only seemed emboldened by his visible reaction and began moving even more furiously, waving her arms back and leaning in to emphasize every other word. The waves were now rocking the floe, doing their best to beg her to stop. "Have you ever smelled your dirty socks? Let me tell you, _not pleasant_!"

The iceberg was now visibly splitting apart, a branch of cracks sporadically traveling up its height.

"Katara, settle down!" Sokka screeched.

"No, that's it! I'm done helping you. From now on, you're on your own!" And with one final, furious swoop of her arms, Katara split the iceberg in half.

She spun around and gasped. Sokka screamed.

He pulled Katara down towards him just as a large wave struck the floe, and even though his eyes were shut in fear Sokka could feel the slab of snow and ice tilt dangerously downward behind him. Almost instinctively, his right hand snatched up the club and stabbed at the hole he found earlier, rooting himself and his sister as the wave subsided and the floe flopped back to horizontal.

Sokka pushed Katara away from him. "Okay, Katara, you've gone from weird to _freakish."_

Brother and sister stood up together to observe the grave of the fallen iceberg. For a moment, it seemed like Katara was finally at a loss of words. But it was a brief moment, unfortunately. "You mean...I did that?" she asked, and her lips began to curl into a smile even as her eyes remained wide with astonishment.

A hint of pride welled up somewhere inside Sokka. He nudged his sister with an elbow. "Congratulations," he said, with just the right amount of sarcasm and feigned indifference.

The ocean seemed to chortle in agreement, bubbles spewing forth from where Katara had struck down the massive iceberg. It laughed, and it laughed, and it laughed, more and more bubbles rising and popping...

"Um, Katara?" Sokka asked.

Katara took a step back. "Not me," she said.

The water began to glow. Sokka took three steps back.

Like a new Sun, the source of the blue light rose to the surface. It was a massive iceberg, almost as large as the one that once stood there, a jagged dome of glowing blue ice and snow. Two shadowy shapes seemed to be locked within the ice: a large, indistinguishable blob on top, and some human-like figure perched in lotus below. Arrow shapes on the smaller figure's hands and head glowed with even greater intensity than its surroundings, perhaps the sources of all the blue light. Other chunks of ice surfaced randomly around it. A more imaginative part of Sokka wondered if it was a mystical iceberg guardian spirit, floating from some hidden world beneath the waves to take bloody revenge on Katara.

His sister seemed almost mesmerized by the light, and she began to take a step towards the mysterious dome. And another. And another.

"Katara..." he warned.

"He's alive!" she shouted with joy.

The figure opened its eyes; they shone with that same bright blue glow. Much to his dismay, his angry iceberg spirit theory was looking to be increasingly plausible.

"It's alive!" Katara gasped, suddenly ripping Sokka's club from his grasp. "Alive...we have to help, come on!"

She hopped from the safety of their floe to another piece of ice. She clambered on to a small ridge of the iceberg, face to face with the human figure. Was she just curious, or was that thing actually hypnotizing her?

"Get back here!" Sokka cried as he chased after her. "We don't know what that thing is!"

But it was too late. Katara was already hatcheting the iceberg with her... _his_ club, and she had barely gotten out of the wave as a gust of air suddenly burst forth from the dent she had created. The dent became a crack, the crack spread into a larger fissure, and the fissure began to snake and branch across the icy tomb of what seemed to be a young boy. Or an angry iceberg spirit.

Sokka followed a beam of light as it into the sky; the iceberg was falling apart and melting at an unnaturally quick pace. He felt Katara grab his hand and pull him down to the ground as the light washed over them, blanketing them with sudden warmth. He closed his eyes, but it didn't seem to matter. The light consumed all of his senses and filled his mind, and for just that one moment, Sokka truly believed that everything was going to be all right.

* * *

The boy stood frozen on the metal deck of his ship, ponytail fluttering in the wind, as he gazed at the beam of light with widened eyes. The dying flicker of hope left within him had suddenly roared back to life like an inferno.

"Finally!" he cried, eagerly spinning himself to face a much older, rounder man sitting at a small table he had set up for a lonely game of pai ji. The man looked up. "Uncle, do you realize what this means?"

"I won't get to finish my game?"

Like his nephew, the man was in uniform, and once upon a time that uniform meant something to him, but he was a much different man now, the boy noted ruefully. Age had gifted Uncle wisdom and patience but also robbed him of ambition and honor.

The boy sighed and pointed at the pillar of light; it had already begun to dissipate.

Uncle narrowed his eyes at where the boy was pointing, and for a brief moment they seemed to flash with understanding. But they quickly became disinterested again and fell back to the cards on the table. "Or it's just the celestial lights," Uncle said. "We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko. Please, sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming Jasmine tea?"

Zuko tore his eyes away from the light, back to Uncle. "I don't need tea! I need to capture the Avatar!" He directed his fiery gaze at the helmsman perched above near the smokestack. "Head a course for the light!"


	2. The Boy

Katara allowed her eyes to open as the blinding light finally dimmed. The upper half of the iceberg had seemingly disappeared, leaving only a massive, snowy crater in its wake. And from that crater emerged the glowing human-like...thing, though the glow was quickly fading. Fading, fading...it was just a _boy_.

He took a step. From the corner of her eye, she could see Sokka raising his club. "Stop!" her brother warned.

As the last rays glowing light finally escaped the boy's body, the boy let out an exhausted sigh and began to collapse, his body fighting to keep upright as he stumbled down the slope of the crater towards Katara. She instinctively gasped and rushed forward and managed to catch the child as his legs finally gave out.

She examined him more closely. A handsome little thing who was probably at least a year younger than even her. His clothes were obviously foreign, though not Fire Nation either; they hung far too loosely on him to properly protect him from the cold, yet his skin was warmer than hers. The once-glowing arrows on his head and hands were blue markings of some sort, obviously permanent too. "Tattoos" was the word; Gran-Gran had described them once. How did a boy like him end up trapped in ice? How did he even survive? Did the glowing mean...

Sokka prodded the boy with his club. "Stop it!" Katara instantly snapped, and her brother quickly shrunk back. She carefully placed the boy on the snow.

His eyes slowly opened, and she smiled in relief. He looked so sweet and innocent, staring at her with an obvious sense of awe and wonder. And then he spoke.

"I need to ask you something..." he said weakly.

"What?"

"Please...come closer."

Katara slightly frowned. "What is it?"

The boy's lips seemed to quiver, and his eyes drooped to the side. Katara leaned in to the boy's face.

The pained look on the boy's face almost instantaneously became a bright smile. "Will you go penguin sledding with me?" he chirped.

Katara's mind froze with confusion. "Uhh...w-well sure!" she stammered. "I guess..."

The boy swooped himself off his own feet in a single, unnaturally elegant motion. A thought from during the canoe ride was weaving itself through Katara's head as she scrambled to her feet, but she couldn't remember just what it was...

The boy surveyed his surroundings, rubbing his head. "What's going on here?" he asked.

"You tell us!" Sokka growled, stepping in front of his sister with his club at the ready "How'd you get in the ice? Why were you glowing?" He poked the boy for emphasis.

The boy lazily pushed the club to the side. "I'm...not sure."

Something growled from within the crater, scaring Sokka into taking a step back. "What the fu-"

The boy smiled and _leapt_ up and over into the crater. "Appa, are you all right? Wake up buddy!"

Katara and Sokka scrambled after him. At the center of the crater, or more accurately, _filling_ the crater, was a massive, furred beast; upon opening its eyes, it gave Aang a big, fond lick.

"Hurray, you're alive!" the boy shouted, warmly hugging the fluffy thing.

Katara carefully slid down the crater to get a closer look at the beast, with Sokka reluctantly following. Mostly white fur, with brown fur running along its back, and six legs. Oh, and a massive saddle on the back as well.

"Holy...what is that thing?" Sokka asked.

The boy turned to face Katara. "This is Appa, my flying bison."

"Right," Sokka said sarcastically, "and this is Katara, my flying sister."

Katara shot her brother a threatening glance.

"So do you guys live around here?" Aang asked.

"Don't, Katara," Sokka warned, raising his club. "Did you see that bolt of light? This guy could be a Fire Navy scout."

Katara rolled her eyes and pushed Sokka's club down. "Oh yeah, I'm sure he's a spy. Just look at that _evil_ look in his eyes."

On cue, Aang shot Sokka his most earnest grin, earning him a giggle out of Katara.

"I'm Katara," she said. "The crazy, paranoid one is my brother, Sokka. You never told us your name."

"Aang," he said, making yet another impossible leap, this time on to the beast's head.

Katara sharply inhaled as her thoughts cleared. "You're an airbender!" she exclaimed.

"Sure am!" he confirmed proudly.

"Giant light beams, flying bison, airbenders..." Sokka groaned. "I've got midnight sun madness. I need to row home where stuff makes...sense..."

Katara smirked. The silence of an idiot realizing his idiocy was always satisfying.

"Well..." Aang began. "Do you have a way home? If you guys are stuck, Appa can give you a lift!"

"We'd love to!" Katara said delightfully. "Thanks!" Aang eagerly airbent her up Appa's saddle, enhancing her small hop with a gust of air that carried her to the top.

"No way!" Sokka shouted as he approached the beast. "I'm not getting on that."

"Then you better hope the Fire Nation finds you," Katara quipped.

Sokka opened his mouth, had another moment of silence, and then closed it as Aang airbent him up next to Katara.

"Okay, first-timers," Aang announced. "Hold on tight. Yip-yip!" He whipped the reins, and with a curt growl, Appa soared into the air...

For a few seconds. Then he just flopped back into the water and began swimming. Katara crawled to the front of the saddle.

"Wow," Sokka snickered from the back. "Truly amazing."

Katara shot her brother yet another angry glance.

"Appa's just a little tired," Aang replied, and Katara couldn't help but smile. He smiled back. "A little rest and he'll be soaring. You'll see." Katara tried to turn back, but Aang kept smiling.

Katara shifted uncomfortably. "Why are you still smiling at me?"

Aang immediately looked away. "Oh, I was...I just thought you had a question!"

Sokka softly groaned in annoyance, earning him yet another dirty look from Katara. She turned back to Aang with a soft smile. "As a matter of fact, I do," she said. "You're an airbender. Do you know what happened to the Avatar?"

"No," he said, his voice suddenly solemn. "I mean, I knew people who knew him, but I don't. Sorry."

Katara's eyes drooped with disappointment. "Oh, just curious. Good night."

And not another word was spoken on the journey home.

* * *

Zuko leaned hard against the railing, staring into the night sky, daring the stars that had laughed at him for so long to challenge him now.

A metal door behind him creaked. Familiar footsteps pattered. "I'm going to bed now," Uncle yawned. "Yep, a man needs his rest. Getting very cold outside." He smacked his lips and yawned again to show just how tired he was.

Zuko didn't move. He wasn't a child anymore.

Uncle sighed. "Prince Zuko, you need your sleep. The battle ahead will be difficult. Your father, your grandfather, your great-grandfather...all of them failed..."

"Because their _honor_ didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture," Zuko interjected. "Mine does. This coward's hundred years of hiding are over."

Uncle sighed again. Zuko already knew what he was going to say. "I'm just saying, finding the Avatar is only the beginning, not the end." And with that, the old man disappeared back into the warmth of the ship.

"You're wrong, Uncle. It ends tomorrow. I will capture the Avatar, or I will die trying." He gave the stars one last hard look before retreating back into the ship.

* * *

Blinded by lightning, deafened by thunder, Aang could barely hear his own screams as he clung to Appa. He hardly noticed when the relentless rain and gusts of wind were suddenly replaced by the unstoppable tides of the sea, or when exactly he had stopped screaming and started drowning, or when his body simply took over for him and encased himself and Appa in a tomb.

"Aang?" a voice called out in the distance, somewhere far away in both time and space. "Aang! Wake up."

Aang shot out of his bed screaming, tossing aside his covers. Some familiar voice kneeling beside him let out a yelp of surprise, averting her gaze.

"Get dressed quickly," she whispered. "The whole village is waiting to meet you!"

Aang let out a loud "Oh" as he realized that he was completely nude, and he felt himself blush. "Sorry, Katara, I...uh...yeah, clothes!" He hurriedly clothed himself and barely managed to grab his glider-staff before Katara dragged him out into the cold.

For a village made of ice and snow, it was surprisingly large; Aang counted at least two dozen villagers greeting him. Oddly enough, they were all female. Aang snickered at the thought of Sokka being the only boy in the whole village, the poor soul.

He smiled and bowed toward the villagers in a sign of respect, but they all seemed to shrink away from him, murmuring amongst themselves.

Aang frowned, leaning towards Katara. "Why are they all looking at me like that?"

"Why are you so pale?" one girl asked. A woman near the front center of the crowd, far older than most of the others, gave the girl a stern look before stepping forward.

"What she means," the old lady began, "is that no one has seen an airbender in a hundred years. We thought your people ."

Aang felt something slightly stir within his heart, like a flicker of darkness trying to warn him of something. But he snorted at the ridiculous idea. "Extinct?"

"Aang, this is my grandmother." Katara was gently tugging the old lady closer to him.

"Just call me Gran-Gran," she chuckled. "Easy on the tongue."

"Extinct?" Aang repeated.

The screaming and giggling of a large pack of boys entering the crowd shook Aang from his thoughts. They found Appa resting in one corner of the village and began attempting to overwhelm him; the beast simply closed its eyes in resignation. Sokka chased after them with his spear, his face livid. "Stop it! Stop it right now!" he cried. "Soldiers! Back to training! There's still a war going on!"

The children largely ignored him, but the flicker in Aang's heart suddenly became a steady flame. "War..." he muttered.

 _How do you stay warm? What are those arrows? Where are you from? What's airbending?_ The villagers had become voices in the background.

"What's this, a spear?" Sokka asked, snatching away Aang's staff with rude curiosity. "You can't stab with this."

Aang once again snapped back into reality, and he smiled. He lived in the present, not the past, not the future, so the present was what he should focus on. "It's not for stabbing!" he chided playfully. "It's for airbending."

He flipped a small switch in the staff, and orange wings fanned out of the staff. The villagers let out a collective "Ohhh."

"Magic trick!" one child giggled. "Do it again!"

Aang giggled himself. "Not magic, airbending! I control the air currents around my glider to fly."

"Yeah, sure," Sokka drawled sarcastically. "Humans can't fly."

Aang smirked.

"Come," Gran-Gran muttered, pulling on Katara's coat. "You still have chores."

Katara took another few seconds to stare in awe as Aang danced through the air with his glider. She turned to Gran-Gran. "He's the one," she said excitedly. "He will teach me waterbending."

"You can't learn waterbending from an airbender," Gran-Gran scolded. "Try not to pin all your hopes on this boy."

"But he's special!"

"Oh? How?"

Katara clenched her fists in hope. "I can tell! Maybe he can't directly teach me, but you yourself said that air nomads were a spiritual people. I can sense he has _much_ wisdom."

There was a playful twinkle in Gran-Gran's eyes. "Is that what it's called these days?"

Katara look up to the sky in time to see Aang's glider zip by as he waved. She waved back. He did a couple more loops before barely grazing into an icy pillar and spiraling into the snow.

"Woah careful!" Sokka cried belatedly. "My tower!"

Katara found Aang a couple steps away, rolling in the snow in delight, his staff's wings tucked away safely.

"Great," Sokka grumbled loudly. "You're a bender, Katara's a bender. Together you can waste time all day long."

Aang stopped rolling. "You're a waterbender?" Aang asked, a hint of admiration in his voice.

Katara fiddled with her fingers nervously. "Well...sort of. Not really. I haven't really trained, and...I don't know any teachers. I might be the only waterbender left in the South."

"That's not right," Aang said mournfully. "There should...what about the northern tribes?"

Katara brushed her hair loops in thought. "That's on the other side of the _world_...and I haven't left home before."

"There's always a first for everything. And _I_ have a flying bison. I can _personally_ fly you to the North Pole!

"I mean...I dunno..."

"Penguin!"

Aang dashed off into the distance at impossible speeds. Katara couldn't help but smile as she sprinted after him.

* * *

Zuko kneeled into a combat stance as the two soldiers began circling around him, though it was, in Iroh's opinion, still a little narrow.

"Again," Iroh said sternly, a bowl of roast duck in one hand and chopsticks in another.

The young prince instantly spread out his arms, showering his opponents in flame. He dodged, ducked, and weaved through the soldiers' retaliation blasts, sending more fire blasts of his own as he twirled in mid-air. The blasts were weaker than they could've been, but still enough to force the soldiers back as Zuko landed into another stance.

Iroh rubbed his eyes and stood up. "No!" he barked, placing his food on the table. "What have I taught you?" He circled his hands up and down in a breathing motion a few times before letting loose a jet of fire at his nephew; it dissipated a noticeable distance before it reached its mark, but the concussive force of the blast caused Zuko to stagger back a step. "Power in firebending comes from the breath, not the muscles. Your fire only burns; it has no force. Anyone with sticks and stones could make a fire that burns. _Get it right_ this time."

As expected, Zuko shook his head in suppressed anger. "Enough!" he roared. "I've been drilling the same sequence all day. Teach me the next set! I'm more than ready."

Naive child, his skull was thicker than the walls of Ba Sing Se. "No, you are impatient," Iroh said stoically. "Basics first. Drill it again!"

Zuko spun around and blasted one of the soldiers, throwing him to his feet. "The sages still tell us that the Avatar is the last airbender," he seethed. "If that's true, he'll be over a hundred years old by now. One century to master the four elements. I have to be ready. You WILL teach me the advanced sets!"

For a moment, Iroh considered striking the boy for his extraordinary stupidity. He gave a thin smile instead. "Very well," he conceded, "but first...well, this roast duck won't finish itself!"

* * *

"Last time I did this I was just a kid!" Katara laughed as she rewarded the two otter-penguins with a fish each.

Aang scratched his head, staring at the massive metal ship in front of him. "But you still _are_ a kid. What happened to this boat? It's huge."

Katara's smile vanished. "A Fire Navy ship," she stated grimly. "Gran-Gran said it was part of the first attacks. Don't know what happened to this one, or , though personally, I hope some sea monster got them."

The dark dread in Aang's heart rushed back to the front of his thoughts."Okay, back up," he said, walking towards an opening brutally ripped open . "I have friends _all over_ the world, Fire Nation included..."

"Aang, stop!" Katara cried as she chased after him. "You don't know what's inside. There could still be booby-traps."

"If there's one rule all benders have to follow," Aang muttered, suddenly feeling wise, "it's that you can't fear the unknown." He took Katara's hand and pulled her along into the ship. Even thought much of it seemed badly worn or damaged, it still looked fascinating inside, a maze of metal and some wood here and there. He wondered what it looked like when it was still floating."

Aang prodded one of the wheels curiously. "Anyways, what I'm saying is...what war are you talking about?"

"Aang, how long were you in that iceberg?"

Aang shook his head. The dread was twisting his insides. "I don't know. A few days, maybe?"

"The war's been going on for a hundred years!"

The dread exploded into terrible comprehension. He knew. Of course he did; he was the Avatar. The ghosts or spirits or whatever they were inside of him could sense the terrible imbalance in the world the moment he awoke from that iceberg.

Aang staggered backwards until he found a cold wall to slump down on. How many friends had passed. Did Monk Gyatso die thinking that Aang was dead? Did he think Aang was a coward? He wanted to cry, but everything around him just seemed surreal. "One hundred years!" he whispered.

Katara squatted beside him. "I'm sorry, Aang. Maybe...maybe there's a bright side?"

Aang looked up at Katara. "Well...I _did_ get to meet you," he admitted.

Katara smiled warmly as she helped Aang off his feet. "Let's head back, this place is creepy."

The sound of a snapping wire brought the last bits of Aang's mind back to the present. The whole ship seemed to groan, the clicks and whirs of rusty machinery crescendoing into...

A single _poof_. Something whistled through the air.

"That must've been a flare!" Katara whispered, her voice trembling. "The village..."

Aang nodded in understanding and took note of light pouring from a large hole above them. "On it," he said, grabbing Katara close to him.

" _What_ are you..."

"Hold on tight!" Channeling the air beneath him, Aang _jumped_.

* * *

The two figures in the distance hopped their way off the ship and across the snow, though perhaps "hop" wasn't quite the correct term. Each leap was impossibly fast, impossibly high, impossibly long, and Zuko had trouble keeping track of his quarry. So the Avatar _was_ an airbender. Hiding...where?

Zuko followed their general direction, scanning left. He eventually spotted what looked like a small village. How clever of the Avatar, though the villagers would provide little resistance in a real fight. The primitive water tribes of the south had been defanged long ago, their waterbenders neutralized in Fire Navy raids on the off-chance that the Avatar was actually a waterbender.

"Wake my uncle!" Zuko roared at one of the soldiers. "Tell him I found the Avatar."

"Yay, Aang's back!"

The village children giggled with glee as they rushed towards Aang and Katara in the distance. But Sokka had other thoughts in mind. He grabbed his spear and stood up as Aang drew near.

"You fucking...I knew it!" he hissed, pointing his spear at the boy. "You're leading the Fire Navy straight to us, aren't you?"

Katara's motherly instincts seemed to kick in as she put herself between Aang and the spear.

"Aang didn't do anything!" she protested.

"There was this booby trap," Aang mumbled sheepishly, "and I guess we...booby-ed right into it."

"Katara, I warned you about that ship!" Gran-Gran said, her voice trembling, and Sokka couldn't help but smile bitterly at Katara's stunned face. "Now all of us are in danger."

Aang began to walk away, and Sokka almost pitied the boy. "I brought here there," he groaned. "It's my fault."

"Foreigner, you're banished from our village," Sokka boomed angrily.

Katara clenched her fists. "You're making a mistake!"

"No, I'm keeping my promise to Dad. I'm protecting you from threats like _him_."

"Threat? Aang isn't our enemy! How stupid are you? Aang's brought us something we haven't had in years..."

"What?"

"Fun."

Sokka wondered if the airbender had somehow brainwashed his sister. "Fun?" he spat. "How stupid are _you_? You can't fight firebenders with _fun_. Mistake or not, he's put us all in danger. His fun has lowered our guard. This is exactly how mo-

"You should try it some time," Aang chimed in with his obnoxious optimism. "I mean the fighting...with, uh...fun...idea"

The boy seemed to shrink and wither under Sokka's enraged glare. "Get. Out. _Now._ " The boy spun around and floated on to his giant, furry pet.

"Grandmother, please," Katara pleaded.

"Katara, your brother is right. The boy must leave."

"Fine!" Katara shouted angrily, turning around to follow Aang. "Then I'm going too!"

Sokka resisted smacking his sister in the head. "Going to _where_?"

"The North Pole. To find a waterbender."

Aang spun around in confusion. "I...am?" He suddenly smiled that stupid smile of his. "I mean...I am! Great!"

This had gone too far. "Katara, would you really choose _him_ over your tribe?" Sokka asked quietly. "Your own family?"

The words stopped Katara in her tracks, and Sokka sighed in relief. She looked up at Aang and mumbled something about leaving and goodbyes.

"Thanks for sledding with me," Aang said.

"Where will you go?" Katara's voice was beginning to waver noticeably, and Sokka could hear the other children sniffling in the crowd. Part of him wished the airbender could indeed stay. But the risks were too great.

Aang looked up in the air. "Home, I guess...Wow, I haven't cleaned my room in a hundred years. Not looking forward to that." He looked at his bison. "Let's fly, Appa. Yip-yip!"

The beast roared in annoyance and began to trudge away. Sokka turned his attention away from the sad scene and towards his villagers. "All right, ready our defenses!"

The boys in the crowd simultaneously snapped out of their silent sobbing and scurried off to their assigned roles and positions. Except one little boy, who approached Sokka...

"And _no_ potty breaks!"

The boy spun around and dutifully jogged back to his tent.

Sokka glanced back at Katara, who was being quietly consoled by Gran-Gran.

"Katara, Katara" Gran-Gran soothed. "You'll feel better..."

"ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?" Katara suddenly exploded. "There goes my last chance at...at becoming a waterbender." She stormed off furiously, and Sokka felt guilt he hadn't felt since...

But this was not the time for regrets. With one last sigh, Sokka purged himself of his doubts and marched back to his tent to prepare for war.


	3. The Avatar

"Remember, the Avatar must be captured alive," Zuko said coldly. "You will _not_ attack anyone without my permission. If any of you so much as singe the hair of a native before I give the order, I will kill you myself. And if any of you show even the slightest hesitation _after_ I give the order...I will do the same. Understand?"

"Yes, Prince Zuko!" his soldiers barked in unison before sliding on their skull facemasks.

As expected, the ship had met no resistance whatsoever as it splintered the very shores outside the village, plowing through the fragile mounds of ice and snow that the locals apparently called "walls".

The bow ramp creaked before crashing down into the snow with a loud _thud_ , steam spilling forth from the exit to act as an intimidating smokescreen. Zuko stepped out into the light, two soldiers flanking him and six more trailing.

A single fighter, his young face covered in war paint, greeted them with a battle cry as he charged up the ramp with a primitive war club. He seemed around Zuko's age, and the prince took pity on him as he simultaneously disarmed and knocked aside the suicidal boy with a single kick. The fall from the ramp would be sufficient punishment.

He approached the crowd of villagers, made up entirely of defenseless women and children. "Where are you hiding him?" he roared angrily. He was in no mood for proper introductions.

"The men aren't here!" squeaked a defiant child's voice. So this was actually the entire village. Zuko had thought the Avatar would be above such dishonorable, cowardly tactics. But there was little time for nonsense. He grabbed the old lady.

'You're the leader?" he asked menacingly. He took her lack of response as a "Yes". He looked back at the mob. "He'd be about this age, master of _all_ elements."

No response. Zuko threw out a warning arc of fire over the crowd's head, no doubt singing a few hairs here and there.

He formed a fire dagger and brought it to his hostage's throat. "I _know_ you're hiding the Avatar."

A familiar battle cry echoed from behind Zuko. The village's sole warrior now weaved through the thrusts of the rear guard's spears with admittedly some degree of skill, but it didn't take much for Zuko to duck under the amateur's unfocused charge and hurl him in front of the crowd. The old lady slipped out of his grasp, though, and ran back to embrace one of the older girls in the crowd.

To the kid's credit, he recovered quickly. "Show no fear!" a little village brat screamed as some boys tossed a spear towards their last hope.

The warrior handily caught it before unveiling some curved weapon that he promptly threw wildly at Zuko, missing by a large margin. Did these barbarians never give up?

"Idiot!" he seethed, lighting up two fire daggers. "I'm not here for waterbenders. Just give me the airbender, and I'll be merciful."

Something struck Zuko from the back of his helmet, and it managed to disorient him long enough that he almost didn't react to the spear surging straight for his chest in time. He cut the spear into harmless pieces with his daggers before taking a swing at its wielder; the stubborn bastard managed to avoid the flames but lost his balance in the process.

If this savage wanted death, well then, that was his problem. Zuko strolled menacingly up to his prey...

Only to be knocked to his feet by a sudden gust of wind. He quickly recovered, but the crowd had already erupted into unruly cheers as a speedy little bald boy on an otter-penguin made his dramatic entrance in front of his defeated friend.

"Hey, Katara!" the new boy, even younger than the previous one, chirped. "You okay, Sokka?"

"Nice timing," the older boy groaned as he stood up.

The slammed the ground with his staff, knocking over the soldiers attempting to surround him with a wave of snow. "Looking for me?" he taunted, staring straight at Zuko.

Zuko's eyes widened, his heart pounding in confusion. No, it couldn't be. Not this...boy. But it was. His clothes, his weapon, his tattoos...he was an airbender. And that meant...

" _You're_ the Avatar?" Zuko managed to rasp.

Murmurs of wonder and shock rippled through the villagers. Of course, they must not have known, either.

Zuko frowned in disgust. "I've spent years preparing for this encounter," he hissed. He kneeled into a combat stance. "You're just a child!"

The Avatar tilted his head in curiosity. "But...you're just a teenager."

Zuko launched a series of fire blasts at the insolent brat, who casually deflected them with his staff, flakes of fire spraying off to the side and scaring off the crowd. To Zuko's surprise, the airbender seemed to notice this, as if...but did Zuko have the courage?

 _Yes_.

"Kill them all!" he roared. His soldiers didn't hesitate and immediately took a step towards the villagers.

"Wait!" the Avatar cried. Zuko almost smiled as he ordered his men to stand down.

The last airbender held out his staff. "If I go with you, will you promise to leave this village alone?"

Of course. Airbenders were born pacifists. They foolishly held all life as sacred; what did he expect? He gave a nod and wave, and the Avatar didn't resist as the soldiers tied him up and grabbed the staff. With a tired sigh, Zuko began marching back to his ship.

"No!" an older girl from the crowd cried. "Don't..."

"It'll be okay," the Avatar lied as Zuko's men shoved him up the ramp. "I'll sort this out. Take care of Appa, okay?"

When the bow ramp finally groaned shut, Zuko suddenly felt his armor become three times lighter. His fingers skimmed the patch of scarred skin that was the left side of his face. It was over. After three torturous years, his honor had been restored. He rolled the staff along his fingertips and then tightened his grip. The Avatar was firmly in his grasp, but he couldn't let his emotions get the better of him. He couldn't loosen up just yet.

"This staff will make an excellent gift for my father," he sneered, turning to study the actual Avatar. "I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks."

The boy didn't react. Zuko frowned. "You two, take the Avatar to the prison hold. And you, take this stick to my quarters."

The soldier bowed as he took the airbending staff. "And sir, the helmsman requests..."

"Tell him...we're heading home." Zuko said slowly, going over each unbelievable word with satisfaction.

* * *

Sokka had long ago become an expert at an Katara's blabbering, but right now the occasional word or two seemed to slip into his ears. Usually "Aang" or "rescue."

"Aang is the Avatar...Aang saved our...return the favor..."

He grabbed his spear reluctantly and headed to the canoe. He hated when she was right.

"Oh, so it's back to normal with you?" she . "You don't even care that -"

"Katara!" he finally cut her off. "Are you gonna talk all day, or do you want to save your boyfriend?"

"He's not my...Sokka, you're amazing!" He nearly fell as his sister slammed him with a warm hug.

"Whatever," he said with a shrug.

She looked back at the canoe. "But we'll never catch him in that thing."

"What do you two think you're doing?" an accusing old voice snapped.

"Hey, Gran-Gran," Sokka blurted. "We were just...umm..."

"Take that flying ox thing over there," she said with a smile, pointing at an enormous shadow rushing towards them in the distance. She handed each of her children a sleeping bag. "You forgot these, too."

"Appa!" Katara exclaimed. "Perfect!"

Sokka scratched his head. "You two just love taking out of my comfort zone...wait, how do you know it can fly?"

Gran-Gran's eyes seemed to twinkle. "I've heard stories," she said quickly. "Katara, my little waterbender you've given me hope. You've given this village - no, the whole world - hope. You found the Avatar for a reason. Your destiny is intertwined with his. And before you say anything, don't worry about us. There's a whole world to save."

"I'll miss you, Gran-Gran."

"Be nice to your sister."

Sokka sighed.

The Avatar's pet, unfortunately, was not quite as perfect as Katara had hoped and exactly what Sokka expected. Climbing aboard the furry thing was a challenge itself, and once again, Appa refused to fly, choosing instead to paddle the water at a leisurely pace. At least the saddle was quite comfortable.

"Go," Sokka shouted in a bored tone, lazily gazing at the clouds. Perhaps they wouldn't be able to rescue the Avatar "Fly."

He could hear his sister having her own little conversation with the animal at the front.

"Up," he continued. "Ascend. Elevate."

"Please, Appa...Aang needs your help."

A stupid idea grew in Sokka's head. "What was it that kid said to you?" Sokka asked the shaggy thing. "Yee-haw? Hup-hup? Wah-hoo? Uh...yip-yip?"

Sokka resisted the urge to dive into the frigid waters below as the beast suddenly began to stir out of its half-slumber, taking a few moments before leaping towards the sky...and staying there.

"You did it, Sokka!" Katara cheered.

Sokka laughed ecstatically as he felt the beast rise higher and higher. "He's flying! He's flying! Katara, he's -"

Katara's arrogant little smirk killed his joyous mood immediately. "Eh, big deal," he said nonchalantly.

* * *

"The Avatar's escaped!"

Aang dashed frantically through the corridors. Surrendering so easily was obviously an error, but it was nothing he couldn't correct. Escaping the first two guards was relatively easy; they'd bound his hands, but they forgot to restrain pretty much everywhere else. Aang always wondered what those breath-based airbending exercises were for.

He let out a small yelp as he turned the corner to see three sword-wielding soldiers facing him menacingly in the middle of the corridor. He probably wasn't going to get anything out of them...

But that didn't mean he couldn't try. "You haven't seen my sta-?"

The soldiers pounced, and Aang had to run spiral along the walls and roof to avoid them. Which was fun, but still more work than he would have liked. "Thanks anyway!"

He continued his way up the ship, peering into every door along the way. Another guard along the way was kind enough to lend Aang the sharp end of his helmet, which he used to cut his bindings as he somersaulted over the man's fire blast. He opened what had to be the millionth door, only to find...

"Sorry!" he whispered. Poor man was sleeping.

It took another minute or so before he finally found what he was looking for He slunk into the room...

The metal door slammed shut behind him. The teenager with the nasty-looking face stood in the corner. What exactly was this person's problem?

"Looks like I underestimated you," he growled. And then he struck.

The heat of the initial two blasts corralled Aang into a corner, but he swiftly spun out of the trap, dodging a third burst with a quick duck and sudden roll behind his foe. He kept himself in that blind spot, circle-walking as his furious opponent kept on trying to blindly swing backwards.

A fiery backwards sweep of the leg forced Aang from safety, but he already had an idea of what do next. He dispersed a flurry of fire with a defensive air shield and then jumped up and kicked, using his opponent's head as a stepping stone to gain the necessary height to create an air scooter. Riding the ball of wind, he zipped across the room, Smashing and breaking and setting ablaze random furniture and decorations.

A precise arc of fire whipped through Aang's air scooter, throwing him against a tapestry-covered wall. Thinking quickly, he unhooked the tapestry and threw it over his foe. He lunged across the room to grab his staff and re-positioned himself into a combat stance.

The other boy snarled as the tapestry spontaneously combusted and flew in all directions. Aang took a step back before swinging his staff left, causing a mattress in a corner of the room to fly with enough force to slam his attacker into a wall, followed by a powerful swing upward that caused angry teenager and mattress alike to hit the roof.

Aang felt a pang of regret for hurting someone like that, even if he had no choice in the matter, but now was not the time. He sprinted out of the room as fast as he could, airbending a hatch above him open. He leapt up and took a quick look around as he dashed towards a balcony in front of him. So this was the...control area? As he opened his glider and leapt into the air, he realized he never learned proper ship terminology. Perhaps...

His thoughts were cut short as he felt a pair of powerful, burning hands grab his left leg tightly, the weight of his unwanted passenger sending him plummeting back to cold metal. Panicked airbending only slightly cushioned the blow, and Aang's head felt dizzy from the hard fall. He turned to face his latest assailant.

The same as the old one. Monkey feathers!

Aang suddenly looked up as something in the sky let out a familiar roar.

"Appa!" he exclaimed. Of course. Would he have done any less if Appa was the one captured?

So enraptured was he by that speck in the sky that he didn't immediately notice he lethal ball of fire heading towards him. Caught off-balance, he tried deflecting it with his staff., only to realize that his hands were empty. Terror filled his heart as he airbent with his hands in a final, futile defense.

The flames didn't reach him, but a crushing wave of heat sent him flying back. He felt himself falling, felt himself engulfed by waves. He felt the ocean greedily consume him, reclaim him as its own. Most of all, he felt oddly at peace. His body welcomed the lonely darkness with open arms.

" _Aang_ " a pure voice cried out from somewhere far away, knifing through the fog in his mind. " _Aang! Aang!_ "

* * *

It was not his time to leave. Aang's body curled in pain and screamed, joining a chorus of a thousand silent voices singing from within him. He opened his eyes, and the darkness withered away before their light.

"Aang!" Katara cried out to the ocean below one last time, despair creeping into her heart. They were _so close_ , but close hadn't been enough. Aang was gone once more, for good this time.

Appa let out a sad moan and began circling the Fire Navy ship, lost in its own sorrow.

She turned back to face Sokka, wiping the tears from her eyes. He was staring intently at the waves, as if he was unwilling to believe that the world's last hope against the Fire Nation was gone.

"Sokka..." she began, but her thoughts, too, were lost in grief.

Sokka's eyes widened. "Something's happening to the water."

Katara nearly fell off Appa as the beast made a sudden, sharp dive. Something was indeed happening: a patch of water rapidly turning from gray to bright blue, the waves breaking apart into a slow, spiraling current. Was Aang...

The Avatar shot out from the sea, his glowing body half-covered by a towering water vortex. The whole ocean seemed to bend to his will, unnatural waves rocking the metal vessel violently. Katara's heart soared.

As Appa continued descending, a bit more cautiously now, Katara could see two people on the ship, the boy who had captured the Avatar and an older man, attempting to mount some sort of defense against the coming onslaught. Perfectly synchronized, they combined their powers to fire a powerful blast directly at the Avatar.

The Avatar slapped it aside with ease, sending the blast into a cliffside to his left. An avalanche of ice and snow quickly buried the bow of the ship.

The tornado of water seemed to suddenly curve downward on to the ship, and the Avatar's struck its deck with awesome force, visibly denting the metal and violently scattering the surviving Fire Nation soldiers into the icy waters with a shockwave.

She noticed a small streak of blood crossing a part the deck and caught herself shuddering. These were the people who had killed her mother - killed countless mothers - yet something sour and sore still wormed through Katara's heart.

But by the time Appa had landed on the battered ship, the ocean had returned to its natural state. Aang lied curled on the deck, no longer glowing, alive but exhausted. Katara carefully slipped off Appa, helping Sokka down before running towards Aang.

"Aang!" she whispered worriedly, kneeling down beside him. "Are you okay?"

Aang smiled weakly. "Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka. Thanks for - Do you see my staff?"

"Couldn't let you have all the glory," said Sokka as he ran off to grab Aang's weapon.

Katara scooped up Aang and clumsily pushed him up a Appa, who gave made some growling noise of approval.

Three soldiers burst forth from a hatch close to the bridge. Katara began cautiously bending a puddle on the floor beneath them, and the men gasped, suddenly leaping back in fear. She prayed silently that she wouldn't fumble her water whip.

"Katara, what the fuck!" screamed Sokka. Katara spun around and saw Sokka boots encased in ice. Damn, she could never get it right!

No doubt realizing that she was far from a master waterbender, the soldiers behind her continued their approach, albeit very cautiously. Squeezing her eyes shut, she swung her arms behind her with all her might.

She slowly turned her head around to peak behind her. She leapt back at the sight of a frozen pike, shuddering in the wind as if it had a killer mind of its own. She took a few more steps back from the frozen soldiers before jogging back to Appa.

"Hurry up!" she shouted urgently.

Sokka muttered something to himself as he chipped away at the ice that rooted him to the ground with his boomerang. "Fly, Appa!" he cried as he crawled up Appa's tail. "Yip-yip, yip-yip!"

* * *

Iroh wiped the bits of snow melting in his wet beard with a towel. He offered it to Zuko, but the stubborn prince refused.

"Good news for the Fire Lord," said Iroh. "The Fire Nation's greatest threat is _just_ a little kid."

Zuko stood up and set to work burning through the mountain of ice and snow that now encased the ship's bow. "That 'kid', Uncle, just did _this_ ," he hissed. "How many lost?"

Iroh closed his eyes. "Lee, Kashi, Ai, and the Lang brothers are all missing. Most unfortunate."

"They will not be easy to replace. I won't underestimate him again."

Iroh sighed and looked at his nephew sadly.

Zuko didn't seem to notice. "Men, dig this ship out and continue pursuit!"

Iroh turned to watch the surviving soldiers working on freeing their three frozen comrades, carefully melting the layers of ice. He could also almost _feel_ the rage they felt at the Avatar. And at Prince Zuko.

"As...as soon as you're done with that," Zuko said in a slightly embarrassed tone. "But...there might still be survivors under here too."

Iroh sighed and walked up next to Zuko, giving his nephew a small smile before blanketing the entire pile of frozen debris with a thin sheet of fire.

"How did you do that? The bending? It was...the most _amazing_ thing I've ever seen!"

"Katara's right, that was unbelievable! And I almost never say that!"

"What, me being right or something being unbelievable?"

"Both!"

For what had to be a whole hour since their escape, the loudest sound Aang had heard was Appa's breathing, but she and Sokka had suddenly decided to shatter the blissful silence.

"I don't know," muttered Aang, his eyes downcast. "I just...did it."

"Why didn't you tell us you were the Avatar?" asked Katara, her voice suddenly serious.

Aang glanced at her face but immediately turned away. He didn't know the answer to that question. "Because...I guess...I never wanted to be."

A pause.

Aang felt Katara's hand on his shoulder, and a weird knot in his chest that he didn't realize he had loosened itself. "The world's been _waiting_ for the Avatar," she said firmly. "It's your destiny to end this war."

"And I'm supposed to do that by..."

"Mastering the four elements. You seem to have air down, so I guess there's water, then earth, then fire. I think?"

Aang turned to face Katara. "Yeah, that's what the monks told me."

Katara slowly smiled, an idea flickering behind her eyes. "Well if we go to the North Pole..."

"We could learn it together!" Aang said cheerfully.

"Then we're in this together!"

"Hey, what about me?" Sokka waved a hand from the back of the saddle.

Katara giggled. "I'm sure there's plenty of firebender heads to knock along the way."

Her brother leaned back, seemingly content. "Sweet."

Aang turned his attention back to steering Appa, a newfound sense of hope and purpose rising within him. He wondered what the Southern Air Temple was like these days. Would anyone even recognize him?

A familiar and wicked feeling nibbled at his heart. _Would anyone even be there?_ it asked.


	4. Far from Home

The sun carefully peaked from its hiding spot behind the cliffs, beams of light spilling on to the infinite mirror of the sea. A swirl of purples and yellows and oranges routed the night sky, and strange birds cawed in celebration of a new day. The sunrise was so different here compared to those Katara saw in the South Pole, more beautiful in some ways. More birds too, of course.

Yet even still, she was already beginning to miss home. A part of her feared that she would never see it again, or...worse. Another part of her, for some peculiar reason, began thinking about Aang.

"Wake up, Sokka!" Aang chirped. "Don't you wanna see the Air Temple?"

Sokka responded with an irritated grunt and tucked himself tighter into his sleeping bag, turning his back on Aang.

With barely a moment's hesitation, the world's last hope grabbed a twig in the sand and began prodding up and down Sokka's back. "Sokka, wake up!" he cried. "There's a prickle snake in your sleeping bag!"

Katara giggled as Sokka flopped across the beach in his sleeping bag like a cursing, screaming fish out of water.

Aang grabbed his staff triumphantly. "Great, you're awake!" he said cheerfully. He hopped over to Appa, floating gently down right next to Katara's spot on the saddle. "Wait 'till you see it, Katara! The Southern Air Temple is one of the most _beautiful_ places in the world!"

Katara suddenly felt very uncomfortable as her sleepy mind suddenly sorted itself out. "Aang, I know you're excited," she began, "but it's been a hundred years since you've been home."

Aang smiled broadly. "That's why I'm so excited!"

Katara took a breath. "It's just that...it's been a long time. The airbenders...look, the Fire Nation is ruthless. They killed my mother, and they -"

Something flickered in Aang's eyes that made her pause. But Aang simply chuckled, and his eyes grew hopeful. "Just because no one has seen an airbender doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped!"

Katara placed a hand on Aang's shoulder. "I know it's hard to accept," she soothed.

There was that flicker again. "You don't understand, Katara," he said matter-of-factly. "The _only_ way to get to an airbender temple is on a flying bison, and I doubt the Fire Nation has any of those. Right, Appa?"

Appa grunted as Sokka and his supplies clawed up the bison's tail. Aang slid over to the reins. "Yip-yip!" he exclaimed, and the creature soared into the orange sky.

Zuko stormed his way through the crowded docks, his long, harsh stride warning anyone nearby that he was going to kill the next person that got in his way.

"I want the repairs made as quickly as possible," he whispered harshly. "And cancel our request for more men. There's no time."

Uncle managed to keep up with his pace, somehow. "None of the men who were frozen survived thawing."

"That doesn't matter. We can't risk losing his trail."

"Ah, you mean the Avatar," Uncle said, his mind occupied by other matters. Probably tea.

" _Don't_ mention his name here!" Zuko spun sharply and almost raised his hand to hit the old man, but he quickly decided to swat at the air instead.

"Don't mention _what_ name?" asked a familiar, growling voice. _Too late_.

"Captain Zhao," Zuko muttered with disdain as he turned around to greet the man.

Zhao towered over both Zuko and his uncle, and his eyes didn't bother hiding his contempt for the young prince in particular. "It's _commander_ now," he said with a smirk. He turned and bowed slightly towards Uncle, and Zuko couldn't help but feel a pang of jealousy. "And Prince Iroh. Great hero and general of our nation."

" _Retired_ general," corrected Uncle.

"The Fire Lord's brother and son are welcome guests anytime. What brings you to my harbor? Senkayu hasn't seen much use in the past decade."

Zuko glanced around skeptically at the rows of massive ships lining the docks.

"Making repairs," Uncle replied, gesturing towards the open hunk of twisted metal that was miraculously still floating. "Adding some more men, replenishing some supplies. Thank you for your hospitality."

"Yes," Zhao muttered, seemingly focused on the ship. He suddenly smiled, and Zuko tightly clenched his fists. Did he know? "That's...quite a bit of damage."

Zuko decided it was time to end the conversation. "Yes!" he blurted. "You wouldn't believe what happened...Uncle! Tell Zhao what happened."

The general's eyes. eyes slightly widened, but Zuko knew that Uncle was the more experienced actor. "It was incredible!" he began, slyly eyeing his nephew. "We rammed right into an...Earth Kingdom ship!"

Zhao gave that same, knowing smirk, and Zuko shifted his feet uncomfortably. "Really?" he asked with mock enthusiasm. "I don't like to get in the way, but you must regale me with all the _thrilling_ details. Join me for a drink?"

Zuko averted his gaze and began to walk away. "Sorry, but we have to go."

He had barely taken three steps when he felt Uncle's hand on his shoulder. "Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect," he scolded before letting go. "We would be honored to join you. "Do you have ginseng tea? It's my favorite."

Zuko turned reluctantly as the two men strolled off to drink tea and compare sideburns. He took a deep breath as he unclenched his fists, a small burst of flame and steam hissing from his palms, and stormed off in pursuit.

The Southern Air Temple was, as Aang had promised multiple times along the way, the most beautiful place Sokka had ever seen.

The temple must have been built into the mountain itself, a massive tower that speared through the clouds jutting out from the summit. Even after a hundred years of obvious decay, even put against the depressing backdrop of cloudy gray skies, the structures still maintained a sense of...majesty. That was the word for it. They had been walking up snow-covered stairs and slopes for an hour, and it still seemed like they weren't even halfway to the top...

Sokka's sense of awe quickly evaporated into despair.

"Yep, this is home," said Aang, who was more than a few steps ahead of him and Katara. "What do you guys think?

Sokka's stomach grumbled in response. "So where do I get something to eat?" Sokka translated.

Katara threw Sokka an annoyed glance. "You're lucky to be one of the first outsiders to _ever_ visit an airbender temple, and all you can think about is... _food_?"

Sokka shrugged indifferently, secretly reveling in her displeasure. "I'm just a simple guy, with simple needs."

Aang had rounded a corner and disappeared, but he didn't seem to notice. "So that's where my friends and I would play airball," he said from somewhere far up ahead, "and over there is where the bison would sleep, and..."

Sokka came to a sudden halt, his path blocked by his sister's arm. Aang stood still on a cliff on the side of the steps, peering solemnly at the deserted ruins below. When Sokka realized why, he simply shook his head. He'd forgotten that the young Avatar was still in denial.

Katara began walking towards Aang. "What's wrong?" she asked, as if she didn't know.

"They're empty," Aang answered sadly. "It's just...weeds. Where did everyone go?"

It was then that Sokka noticed a small black horn half-buried in the snow, and part of him already knew what it was. He took out his spear and prodded at it. Metal. He kneeled down and pulled.

His eyes widened with fear despite himself. A shattered, rusting Fire Army helmet.

"Guys," he called. "You better come see this."

Aang didn't respond, perhaps still caught up by his own thoughts. But Katara was already at his side. "Fire Nation."

"We should tell him."

Katara sighed. "Aang!" she yelled.

Sokka stared intently at the helmet, wondering how Aang would react. Would he cry? Maybe he would become all angry and glowy again. Or maybe the kid just wouldn't make the connection, and Katara would have to explain to him how the Fire Nation slaughtered his friends and family one hundred years ago. _Then_ he'd start glowing.

"What is it?" Aang said with curiosity. Sokka steeled himself against the coming breakdown.

He was hit with a copious amount of snow instead, just enough to knock him down and bury both his head and the helmet. "Just a new waterbending move I learned!" he could hear Katara say in that innocent, carefree tone she had perfected years ago.

Aang burst out laughing from a distance, his spirits evidently raised. "Nice one! But enough practicing, we have a whole temple to see!"

Sokka lifted himself back up and dusted off the snow. "You know, you can't protect him forever."

Katara began walking away. Sokka pulled on her shoulder. "Katara," he said sternly, "firebenders were here. You can't just pretend they weren't."

Katara faced him with sad eyes, and Sokka instantly released her from his grip. "I can for Aang's sake. Just...a little longer."

The two siblings continued up the path towards the temple in silence.

"...Assuming it actually _works_ , the weapon should provide us with the opening we need to take Ba Sing Se. By the end of the year, the capitals of both the Earth Kingdom and Northern Water Tribe will be under our rule, and the Fire Lord can finally claim victory in this war."

Zuko shook his head angrily, partly because he knew Zhao was simply stalling, and partly because Zhao was plain wrong. After an hour of drinking tea, his Uncle had walked to some wall on the other side of the room, having taken interest with a display of fanciful weapons. "If my father thinks the rest of the world will bow to him so easily, then he is a fool!"

Zhao kneeled down to meet Zuko eye-to-eye. "Two years at sea have done little to temper your tongue," he jeered. "How is your search for the Avatar going?"

Zuko's heart skipped a beat as something fell apart with a terrific crash behind him.

"Eh...my fault, entirely," Uncle apologized meekly, much to Zuko's chagrin. Zhao was visibly displeased and walked over to check on his prized blades.

"We haven't found him yet," Zuko muttered, his head tilted towards the ground.

Zhao grunted as he walked back, apparently uninterested in cleaning up the mess. "What did you expect? We made sure the Avatar died a hundred years ago...Unless you have found evidence that wasn't the case?"

"I haven't found...anything." Zuko had looked up just long enough to realize that Zhao was smiling.

Zuko took a deep breath. "No, it's like you said," he continued in a mocking tone. "The Avatar probably died a long time ago. Come on, Uncle, we're going."

He stood up from his chair and was exiting the tent when three soldiers suddenly cut him off with their pikes.

One of the soldiers walked up to Zhao. "Commander Zhao, the crew has been interrogated and has confirmed that Prince Zuko had the Avatar in custody...but...let him escape."

"Now remind me," Zhao drawled sardonically, "how, _exactly_ was your ship damaged?"

Aang ran up the courtyard excitedly. He couldn't believe it. It was Monk Gyatso!

Well, a wooden statue of Gyatso calmly sitting in lotus, in surprisingly good condition. A thread of sorrow wove its way through Aang's joy as he remembered his situation; he'd never said goodbye to Gyatso before he...left.

But it was still a welcome sight. It wasn't just the fact that the temple was clearly abandoned for a long time. He had noticed it the moment he entered the temple, patches of stone and wood and clay and varying sizes that felt foreign in a way that couldn't be explained as natural decay. But if a wooden statue like that was still standing after a hundred years, then firebenders certainly couldn't have attacked here like Katara claimed.

"Who's...that?" Sokka asked, still short on breath from the long hike up the mountain.

"Guys, I want you to meet Monk Gyatso, the greatest airbender in the world." Aang closed his eyes and bowed towards the statue, silently reminiscing about the wisdom Gyatso would dispense as they baked cakes for the New Spring celebrations. He also remembered Gyatso teaching him how to lob said cakes at their flow airbenders from long distances, and he could still hear the older monks harshly reprimanding Gyatso for all the mischief he and Aang were causing, warning Gyatso that time was running short, that the Avatar had to be ready meet his destiny...

Aang opened his eyes, swallowing the lump in his throat. He felt an understanding hand place itself on his shoulder, and for a moment he thought Gyatso had somehow magically returned.

"You must miss him," Katara said softly.

Aang nodded and continued walking through the courtyard.

"Where are you going?"

"The air temple sanctuary. There's...someone I'm ready to meet."

Aang lightly jogged down the open hallway in front of him, up the steps, down another hallway, around a corridor...he saw paintings and symbols of his people plastered across the walls scroll by him, not a burn mark on them, and he smiled. His people were still out there somewhere.

At last, he arrived at a massive wooden door, the only thing that stood between him and his destiny. Three large, curled metal pipes, stylized after the symbol for airbending acted as the door's locks.

Katara and Sokka had finally caught up to him. "But Aang," said Katara, "no one could have survived in there for a hundred years. Do -"

"Maybe he has a lot of food," Sokka interjected.

Aang gave Katara a hopeful smile. "Well I survived in the iceberg for that long."

Katara placed a finger on her chin thoughtfully. "Good point..."

"Katara, whoever's in there might help figure out this Avatar thing!"

Sokka ran up to the door. "And he might have _delicious cured meats_ ," he stressed as he tried and promptly failed to kick open the door.

Aang sighed. "Sokka, air nomads are vegetarian. Now stand back and watch _this_."

Sokka grumbled to himself as he limped behind Aang.

Aang spread his arms and thrusted them forward, bending a steady current of air into the pipes. They began to make a horn-like sound, punctuated by squeaks and clicks as they started to rotate one by one. As the last pipe made its final click, the door slowly creaked open.

After what seemed like a wasteful eternity, Zhao finally stopped silently pacing the room.

"So a twelve-year-old boy bested you and your firebenders," he spat with disgust. "You're more pathetic than I thought."

Zuko clenched his fists at the slant. "I underestimated _once_ ," he growled, "but it will not happen again!"

"No, it will not. Because you won't have a second chance."

Wisps of light gray began to slip out of Zuko's curled fingers. "Commander Zhao, you must reconsider," he pleaded angrily. "I've been hunting the Avatar for two years -"

Zhao threw a dangerous arc of fire over Zuko's head. "Don't give me orders, boy," he hissed. "Capturing the Avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hands. I was considering letting you join me, but I see that you're still too arrogant to be anything more than a hindrance."

Zuko stared at the dirt, hatred and anger swirling within him. He barely took notice of the sentry who quickly entered and exited the tent without a word.

"My search party is ready." Zhao sighed. "Once I'm out to sea, you'll be escorted back to your repaired ship and be free to go.

A dangerous, daring idea formed from the emotional storm battering his mind. "Are you worried I'm going to try and stop you?" he asked pointedly.

Zhao let out a sardonic laugh. "You?" he drawled in disbelief. "Stop me? Impossible."

Zuko's rage carried him to his feet, and with a cry of frustration he brought his leg high over and down on to the wooden tea table, reducing it to splinters.

Uncle leapt up from his own seat. "Prince Zuko, that's enough!" he roared. But Zuko didn't care. He had to get back at Zhao, even if he didn't know how.

Zhao remained unfazed. "You can't compete with me," he said confidently. "I have dozens of warships under my command and you? You're just a banished prince. No home, no allies. Your own father doesn't even want you."

"You're wrong!" Zuko screamed. "Once I deliver the Avatar -"

"If your father really wanted you home, he would have let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes you are a failure and a disgrace."

Zuko struggled to hold back tears at the sting of the lies. "That's not true..."

"You have the scar to prove it."

A sudden epiphany. Zuko brought himself up close to Zhao, their noses almost touching, staring up into those cruel, arrogant, lying eyes. He knew exactly what he was going to do. "Maybe you'd like one to match!" he hissed, and he caught the slight twitch in Zhao's eyes as the commander felt a wave of threatening heat wash across his face. It filled him with bloodlust.

"Is that a challenge?" Zhao asked mockingly.

"An Agni Kai. At sunset."

"Very well." Zhao turned around and began walking towards the tent flap. "It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you. I guess your uncle will do."

"More tea, please!" Uncle requested a moment after Zhao left the room. The lone guard seemed to ponder over his situation. Zuko once again felt that pang of jealousy. Even now, simply uttering the name "Iroh" usually elicited praise and wonderfully fantastic stories about the retired general's cunning, or his wisdom, or his ferocity, or his kindness. He was a living legend, even after his spotless record had been tainted by defeat at Ba Sing Se.

"Don't worry," Uncle assured the ambivalent man. "We won't leave without you. You have my word."

The young man nodded, peaked outside the tent flap, and walked away.

"Prince Zuko, this is foolish," Uncle scolded, his previously warm tone raising itself to less-friendly levels, "or have you forgotten what happened the last time you dueled a master?"

Zuko wished Uncle was right. He closed his eyes and thought of turtle-ducks and tea gardens and other beautiful things that were robbed from him. He had to angrily rub the scarred side of his face to bring himself back to the present. "I will never forget."


	5. The End of the Beginning

"Statues?" Sokka exclaimed in outrage, echoing Aang's own thoughts. "That's _it_? Where's the food?"

Light continue to spill into the dark room before them, piercing the fog of fine dust that almost blanketed the room. Aang He felt the weight of _hundreds_ of pairs of eyes staring at him, judging him in perfect silence and stillness. Were they all airbenders, or were they just...

Katara looked up. "Who are all these people, Aang?"

Aang followed her gaze towards the statues along the upper levels, looking down at him from all directions. But Aang didn't feel threatened; in fact, he felt like should _know_ these people, and his memory desperately searched itself for the name of each individual, unique stone carving. There was a pattern to it all: a firebender, then an airbender, then a waterbender, then an earthbender, then another firebender...

"The Avatar Cycle," he intoned, strolling up closer to that last statue, a bold-looking man with a well-trimmed beard and long hair.

"Of course," Katara whispered in delight. "These must be your past lives."

Sokka's scoff echoed across the room. Aang stared deeper into the statue. This was the Avatar before him. It was like staring at a distorted mirror. His name was...what?

"It's true!" Katara replied confidently. "When the Avatar dies, he's reincarnated into the next nation in the cycle."

The statue's eyes gleamed for a second, and Aang was suddenly far above the world, a star falling from the sky. The cold world below him was suddenly set aflame, and it rose back to life as a beautiful phoenix...

"Aang! Snap out of it!"

The vision ended, and Aang found himself back in the Southern Air Temple, still staring into Roku's eyes.

"Though I'd lost you there," said Katara. She looked at Roku. "Who's that?"

"He's Avatar Roku, the Avatar before me."

Sokka suddenly popped over Katara's shoulder. "You were a firebender?" He slightly grimaced. "That...explains a lot."

"There's no writing," Katara pointed out. "How'd you know his name?"

Aang shrugged.

Sokka crossed his arms. "You benders just couldn't get any weirder," he growled.

Aang scratched his head. "I have to say, this isn't what I expected," he said. "How is Roku supposed to help me if I can't talk to him?"

A chittering noise came from the open door behind them, and they all spun around, ready to strike. A lemur blinked back at the trio, tilting its head in curiosity.

A part of Aang's mind knew that there were more pressing issues at hand. The other parts knew that Aang didn't like thinking about being the Avatar, and Aang always wanted a flying lemur as a pet.

"Lemur!" he exclaimed, expunging Roku from his mind.

Sokka raised his club, and from the corner of his eyes Aang could see the older boy licking his lips. "Dinner..."

The lemur screeched in fear and took off. Aang allowed Sokka a five-second head start.

* * *

In hindsight, a five-minute head-start might have been more fair for Sokka.

Hopping down along the steep side of the mountain was treacherous and foolish. Unbelievably fun, and the only way for him to not lose sight of the flying lemur, but there was a reason why even Monk Gyatso just air scootered down the long way. Aang instinctively brushed the faint scar on his inner left thigh against his other leg, a reminder of the last time he went down these treacherous rocks.

Over a hundred years ago. Aang sighed a sad sigh. Everything was different now. He looked at the large tent in front of him, something he did not recall ever seeing before. Yet he couldn't bring himself to care, or even feel just a bit curious. For some reason he refused to even return to see his old room; why bother with a stupid tent? Even chasing the lemur was sounding less appealing by the second...

Out of the corner of his eyes, Aang saw something quick and wily slink into the tent. He stood up. Scratch that last part, he still wanted that lemur.

He entered the strange tent and began pushing away the pile of tattered and ripped drapes. They came in a rainbow of dull colors, mostly lifeless reds and muted yellows, with the occasional streaks of black. He blew aside an obstructing pile of snow with the wave of his hand and exited the other end of the tent, taking note of the large pit in front of him. The lemur had to be in there somewhere...

Aang took a sharp breath when he saw the first skull.

It stared at him with malicious glee, a smile frozen on to its bony visage. Aang looked around at the rest of the pit and suddenly became aware of the bones and skulls and decaying armor and tattered robes that surrounded him.

All of a sudden, there wasn't enough air for Aang to breathe, to keep the world around him balanced and upright. He knew all along, but it wasn't until now that he had come to accept the truth. The temple's stones felt different because they _were_ different. Firebenders had destroyed the temple, and then they had rebuilt it. This pit was dug to hide all the dead from both sides.

And if they had reached this temple, then that meant none of them were safe.

But why dd they rebuild it?

 _To lure in the survivors_ , something inside of him answered. It was him, yet it...wasn't.

 _Who?_

Aang felt something crunch under his footsteps. He hurriedly picked up the shattered, frozen pieces. To anyone else, they were frozen bits of a round necklace piece, just a piece of wood with some carved lines on it. But Aang instantly knew it was unique. In fact, he knew what it was, who it belonged to, and what it meant.

"Hey, Aang, where are you?" It was Sokka's voice, somewhere not too far away. "You find my dinner yet?"

"Gyatso." He began to bawl loudly, dropping to his knees.

Aang could hear Sokka carefully marching down the pit. "Aw, Aang, I wasn't _really_ going to eat the lemur," he said. "Aang, calm do- Oh...shit."

"Gy...at...so," Aang moaned between sobs.

Aang felt Sokka's hand on his shoulder, as if that was what Aang needed. "Come on, Aang. Let's go."

 _Go where? Go why? Arrogant, ignorant Sokka, asking you to turn your back to...to this!_

"Everything will be all right."

Between his sniffling and hot tears Aang realized Sokka's problem. _He doesn't know my pain. No one else ever will. This burden is mine alone..._

"Let's get out of he- Aang, your tattoos, they're -"

The Avatar looked over its shoulder, burning eyes searing Sokka with their sorrow, and the mortal boy wisely chose to run. _Unless we share it with_ everyone _._

The Avatar roared, and the earth shook, and the winds screeched, and their voice echoed across the world.

* * *

Katara carefully studied Avatar Roku's statue. She stared at his face, so calm and full of wisdom, and she knew it to be the face of the enemy.

She sighed in exasperation. She felt irritated about...something. Her not knowing just what that something was only made her more irritated. The whole sanctuary felt too cold, too stuffy, too _bright_. Actually, why was -

Roku's eyes were glowing. Ah, that explained it. But what explained _that_?

One by one, the light began to spread, the eyes of each statue suddenly lighting up with white-hot ferocity. Katara felt no sense of awe, no sense of hope. These eyes burned with anger, hatred, and fear. The entire building began to shake, groaning under the power of a terrible force.

She swore under her breath and sprinted out of the sanctuary in search of Aang.

* * *

Somewhere in the North Pole, two fishermen swore that a pool of water in the shrine they were praying in had briefly turned blood red. When they later brought their story to the Chief, he had them literally thrown out of his court.

* * *

Meekly walking along one of the many narrow alleyways of Ba Sing Se, a nervous woman checked her left, then her right, then her left again, eyeing every shifting shadow with suspicion. She had been sworn to secrecy, but she would also be lying to herself if she believed that she'd last more than a minute under torture. Or...worse.

She went over her message one more time: The north-pointing spoon had lost its way. And that meant the Ava-

The woman rounded a corner was never seen again.

* * *

The Fire Sage was sweeping the floor of one of the eight Sacred Rooms when the eternal fire burning in front of him suddenly erupted into fifty different colors. He rushed out of the room shouting, "The Avatar has returned! The Avatar has returned!"

A fellow sage came barreling down the hallway. "The Avatar?" he asked fearfully.

"Yes! Send word to the Fire Lord immediately!"

As the second sage ran off in search of a messenger hawk, the first sage's face drooped into a frown. Long ago, he had sworn a sacred oath. Was he ready to break it?

* * *

When Sokka finally regained consciousness, his first thought was that he was very hungry. His second thought was that the wind was unusually strong today.

He sat up, rubbing his eyes groggily. Part of him was confused why he wasn't dead, but exactly why he was confused about that was confusing in itself...

Then he saw Aang floating in the air, surrounded by swirling dirt and snow and bone and other stuff. He stood up in half-awe, half-terror, and everything made sense again.

He considered running, but it seemed like Aang had cut off all escape with an impenetrable screen of fast-moving ice and wind that rather neatly wrapped around the large pit where he and Aang had stumbled upon the bodies of a certain Monk Gyatso, as well as those of many, many Fire Nation soldiers. Sokka was actually very impressed that the airbending monk had killed so many firebenders, but Aang understandably didn't take his old teacher's death so well.

Katara suddenly appeared from the other side of the screen of ice and wind, which was apparently not so impenetrable. She dropped to her knees the moment she made it through, out of breath, and Sokka rushed to her side, carrying her away from the

"You okay, Katara?"

She nodded, quickly regaining her composure. "Yeah, I'm fine. What happened?"

Sokka pointed at the angry glowing ball of Avatar magic and raging wind hovering in the sky. "Aang found out about the firebenders. Also, they killed Gyatso."

Katara said something, but Sokka didn't catch it as a powerful gust knocked him into the snow. "It's his Avatar Spirit," she shouted over the raging winds.

"Wow, really?" Sokka rolled his eyes. "I'm not kidding. How?"

"I didn't," she said.. He's destroying the entire temple. I was just running away from the stronger winds. It's like Aang's...led me here."

A terrible thought was suddenly gnawing at Sokka. "You think he's trying to trap us?" he asked. "The Avatar? "

Katara seemed to consider the idea, but she shook her head. "No, I don't think so," she said. "I'm gonna go calm him down. Aang. The Avatar. I don't know."

Warning horns blared in Sokka's head, and he grabbed her arm as she stood up. "Katara..."

"I have to try," Katara insisted.

Sokka sighed and let her go. "Fine, I'll come too. Just do it before he blows us off the mountain!"

She nodded, and together they fought through the tides of air that smashed against them.

"Avatar!" Katara cried, but the ball in the sky did not move. "Aang?"

Sokka swore the winds were picking up even more speed.

"I know you're upset," she continued, "and I know how hard it is to lose the people you love. I went through the same thing when I lost my mo -"

Katara's feet were suddenly no longer touching the ground, but Sokka managed to pull catch her arm before she flew off. He pulled out his boomerang with his free hand and dug it into the snow.

"Please, Avatar...Aang!" pleaded Katara. It was becoming hard to breath. "Monk Gyatso and the other airbenders may be gone, but there's still people that need your help. There's a whole world that needs your help. And you can still have a family. No, you _do_ have a family. Me. Sokka. We're your family now. We care about you!"

The winds began to die down, and the shell of air that Aang had wrapped himself vanished as he floated back to the ground in front of Sokka. His tattoos suddenly stopped glowing, and once again Katara managed to wrap him in her arms as he collapsed in exhaustion.

"I'm s-sorry I'm so sorry I didn't mean to hurt anything..." Aang rambled, "and I didn't...didn't mean to hurt you and Sokka..."

Katara stroked Aang's head, gently rocking him like a baby, and Sokka was convinced that she was enjoying herself far too much. "Shhhh it's okay," she said softly. "It wasn't your fault."

Sokka turned away from all the tears and comforting to see what remained of the Southern Air Temple.

Hm, not much.

Sokka heard a familar chitter behind him, and he turned to see that same damn furry creature he'd been hunting earlier rolling a colorfull ball at his feet. He picked up the strange offering, feeling it, sniffing it. He took a bite, his worries that he was going to get poisoned overruled by his stomach.

Sweet and crisp. So it was fruit. He quickly devoured the whole thing as the creature dropped a pile of fruits in front of him.

"Hey, little lemur." Aang cooed, apparently back to his usual cheerful self. He extended his arm, and the lemur scaled it before settling on Aang's bald head.

"So I guess you're part of our family now," he said.

"Are you going to name him?" Katara asked.

"How about...Momo!"

Sokka reached for one more fruit, a pink one he was saving for last, only to realize that the lemur was already nibbling on it, perched happily on Aang's shoulder. He gave a rueful sigh as Aang and Katara laughed in delight.

"Come on, Momo, let's go find Appa." Aang rubbed the little scoundrel under its chin. "

Katara stopped laughing. "Are you sure Appa's alright?"

Aang nodded confidently. "He's been through a lot worse." He turned his attention back to the lemur as they began their long walk back. "You, me, Appa, we're probably the only air nomads left. So we got to stick together. Ha, I hope Appa won't mind. Hey, do you wanna ride a koi fish? I know this great place..."

Sokka couldn't help but smile.

* * *

Zuko breathed in.

This was it. Agni Kai. The sun was already half-buried in the horizon, and night would mark a new beginning.

Zuko breathed out.

Agni Kai. A duel of fire. If either duelist was to capture the Avatar, the other had to die.

"Remember your basics," Uncle said, a hint of fear in his otherwise unwavering voice. "Your breath. Your chi. These are your greatest weapons."

"He won't win," Zuko said. "I won't allow it."

Uncle nodded. "Zhao is powerful, Zuko, but he is arrogant. Break the root."

Zuko stood up from his kneeling stance, throwing off the cape covering his shoulders. The cold air squeezed against his bare arms and chest, warring against the raging fire coming from within.

Zhao mirrored his actions, revealing hair and muscle that marked him as a true man. Zuko slightly shuddered.

Both combatants took their stances, and the sound of a large gong echoed across the arena.

Zuko's fireblast came just a hair of a moment late, and the explosion that was created as his attack met Zhao's was a bit too close for comfort. Nonetheless, Zuko took the time to prepare a stronger blast, drawing deep from his breath, bringing his arms back before launching a searing streak of flames. Unflinchingly, Zhao absorbed the blast head-on by crossing his arms in a block position and then dissipated it without trouble.

Zhao smirked, no doubt convinced that he had already demonstrated his superior bending skills, and Zuko angrily ground his teeth. Part of him agreed with Zhao, but he wasn't going to just roll over and wait to die. He let loose a flurry of spins and kicks that sent waves of fire surging towards Zhao. Zhao kneeled and clapped his hands together near the ground, parting the waves with a jet of fire.

Zuko suddenly realized how heavily he was breathing. Zhao, on the other hand, hadn't even broken a sweat.

"This will be over quickly," he heard the commander snarl.

Zhao threw a fire blast that forced Zuko back even as he split it in two with his arms. Zhao took a step forward and threw another blast of equal strength. Zuko slid back; Zhao stepped forward. The man was just _toying_ with him at this point.

What was it that Uncle said? That the Agni Kai was a mistake? That Zuko no longer wished to live? That lunacy had passed on from father to son?

Zhao finally went for the kill, and a two-handed blast sent Zuko flying back several meters. Zuko could smell something burning, hopefully just his nails. He groaned and opened his eyes, only to see a pair of large, menacing feet. He couldn't bear to look up into the eyes of the man who would soon kill him. He had fought hard enough. He had done all that he could. There was no point in fighting anymore...

His eyes widened as he finally remembered what Uncle had said.

 _Break the root_...

And the mightiest tree will fall.

"The Fire Nation will become stronger with your death," Zhao mocked, raising a fiery fist for the final blow.

Zuko's eyes widened, but not with fear. He breathed in.

His entire body moved in a blur, swiping Zhao's legs from underneath him before planting his own feet firmly on the ground. It was as if an untapped source of chi had suddenly burst open inside him. Now it was Zuko's turn to smirk, Zuko's turn to play with his food.

Zhao rolled back and recovered, but Zuko gave no respite, each step sending trails of fire that blackened the arena floor as they homed in on Zhao's feet. He slammed a kick into the commander's mid-section, the blow folding Zhao in half as he tumbled across the floor. Zuko closed the gap, flames dancing from both hands in anticipation of a killing blow.

"Do...it!" Zhao stared back at Zuko, his visage tainted by blood and bruises, yet his eyes were still full of hatred and prideful defiance. It made Zuko sick.

He kneeled down and latched on to both of Zhao's wrists, and the man yelped as Zuko's hands seared his arms. No, he screamed, curling himself off the ground in pain, sweat and tears trickling out from his face, mingling.

Zuko let go, and Zhao collapsed back on to the ground, panting heavily. "It's...that's...that's it?" he sputtered. "Where is your _honor_?"

"I have done worse than kill you, Zhao," Zuko said. "I have branded you as a failure. I have stripped you of your foolish pride. In keeping with the ancient laws of Agni Kai, for sparing your life I will take one of your frigates, as well as all the men on board."

"And...you think they'd follow _you_ instead? The disgraced exile? The traitor...you bastard..."

Zuko stood up, and now Zhao looked so small and weak and pathetic. Zuko shot a sudden, small fire blast next to Zhao's face, and he smiled as his fallen foe slightly flinched.

"I am the rightful heir to the throne. My uncle is the most brilliant and successful general in Fire Nation history. You? You were always just another name on a list. And now you're not even worth your weight in grain." He turned his back on Zhao and started to walk away.

"Your father raised a coward..."

Zuko heard Zhao stealthily erect himself, heard the faint _swish_ of a swinging foot. He felt the heat of flames aimed straight at the back of his head. Moving faster than what most men could even properly perceive, Zuko spun around, fists ready to send the lethal fan of fire right back at its sender.

But Uncle, apparently, was faster, and Zuko barely managed to stop himself mid-swing. One of the old man's hands had already caught Zhao's foot in a crushing grip, the flames dissipating into harmless smoke. Uncle gave a light shove, and Zhao was on the floor again.

"No, Prince Zuko," Uncle commanded. "Do not taint your victory."

He turned his old eyes towards Zhao. "So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat," he said, snorting with disgust. "Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you."

Zuko's eyes widened as Uncle, too, turned his back on the disgraced commander.

"Thanks for the tea. It was...delicious."

They had left port less than an hour after sunset. Zhao was, unsurprisingly, not very well-liked among the crew of the _Bai Tao_ , which was currently sailing in parallel with Zuko's own ship. Back at sea, back on the hunt for the Avatar, but this time with _two_ ships and, hopefully, Zhao out of the picture. Standing with Uncle, surrounded by only the splashes of gentle waves, it felt like...home.

 _No._ He had spent too long surrounded by the ocean's foul stench; he wasn't going to forget his mission. He needed it back: his home, his _honor_...

"Did you really mean that, Uncle?" he asked. "What you said to Zhao?"

Uncle let out a hearty chuckle and looked up at the stars. "Of course," he said plainly. "I told you, ginseng tea is my favorite."

Zuko couldn't help but smile.


	6. Welcome to Kyoshi

Zuko was, in his opinion, calm. He sat surrounded by silence, eyes closed, each breath taken with rigid precision. He thought of home, acknowledged his pain, and threw it aside in his mind. He thought of Zhao, acknowledged his hatred, and shoved that face back into its dark corner. After thoroughly rinsing of concern, he was able to return his attention back to the energy within, only feeling the heat of the four candles laid out in front of him as they ebbed and flowed with his own breathing. For five whole seconds, Zuko was at peace.

A door creaked open, followed by Uncle's familiar cough. "The only reason you should be interrupting me," he calmly warned, "is if you have the Avatar."

"Actually I do have _news_ of the Avatar, Prince Zuko, " Uncle said, "but you might not like it."

Zuko maintained his steady breathing. "Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader. Whatever you have to say, I'm sure I can take it."

"Okay then." A pause. "We have no idea where he is."

The four candle flames erupted into a wall of fire and smoke as Zuko let out an enraged "What!?"

Uncle opened a window, waving the smoke out into the night sky with a fan.

Zuko turned to the map pinned on his wall. This, honestly, wasn't really news. There had been multiple sightings of the Avatar over the past week, yet there was no pattern to his movements, no way of predicting where he would go next.

"How am I going to find him, Uncle?" he asked. "He is clearly a master of evasive maneuvers."

* * *

"You have no idea what you're doing, do you?"

Aang ignored Sokka's remark, focusing instead on drawing wet circles in the island sand with his fingers. He was feeling unusually unsatisfied after riding the elephant koi. Sokka seemed wholly unimpressed, and Katara hadn't even been paying attention. She was sitting on a rock far back from the shore, wholly absorbed in repairing Sokka's torn pants What was the point of riding some stupid fish if no one was even watching?

"Man, at this rate, we won't get to the North Pole until spring!"

The circles gave Aang an idea. He clicked at Momo, who promptly dove into his shirt lying on the sand, popping out with two small marbles which he handed to Aang.

"Hey Katara!" He lightly cupped the marbles between his two hands and began to airbend them in a circular pattern, only flattening out his palms after they began to orbit each other. "Check out this airbending trick!"

Katara didn't lift her head. "That's great, Aang," she mumbled.

"You didn't even look," Aang said with a pout.

Katara looked up. "Really, that's great!" she said with a little more enthusiasm.

"But I'm not doing it now..." Aang sighed.

"Stop bugging her, airhead." Sokka chuckled in amusement. You need to give girls space when they do their sewing."

That somehow got Katara's undivided attention. "What does me being a _girl_ have to do with -"

"It's just the natural order of things", Sokka interjected with a smile. "Guys are better at hunting and fighting and stuff like that, and girls are better at sewing pants and...other things, I'm sure."

"All done with sewing!" Katara said sarcastically, pointing at the large hole in Sokka's pants. "And look at what a great job I did!" She lobbed the pants angrily at Sokka.

"The truth hurts, doesn't it?"

Aang calmly airbent himself dry and dressed himself before laying back into the sand to the tune of Sokka and Katara's bickering.

* * *

"The Unagi will eat well tonight," said a girl's voice in the darkness, filled with malicious glee.

Katara's eyes flew open, but she still only saw dizzying darkness. She tried moving her hands, but they had been bound to a wooden pole. She felt a second pair of hands tied with her's.

"Aang?"

"Yep," he croaked cheerily, and Katara sighed in relief.

"Silence!" A new voice this time, no doubt belonging to an older man. "You two have some explaining to do."

A gloved hand violently ripped off the blindfold over Katara's eyes. A crowd of people were watching them from a distance with a mix of curiosity and fear, but the small, round, bearded man in front of her, flanked by four or five fierce-looking girls with painted faces and some sort of ceremonial dress, looked down with only anger.

"We'll feed your corpses to the Unagi if you don't," the girl from earlier threatened.

Katara frowned. Two...two... "Where's Sokka? What did you do to him? I know he's an idiot sometimes, but if you hurt him I...I swear -"

A cold gauntlet slammed into her left cheek, and she gasped as the pain pulsed across her face. "Shut up!" snarled the girl.

"Katara!"

"I'm fine, Aang," she lied.

"So the third Fire Nation spy is your brother," mused the bearded man. "Interesting..."

"Do we look like Fire Nation?" Katara snapped.

The girl warrior stepped forward to deliver another blow, but the man stopped her with a raised hand. "You aren't the first outside meddlers who've invaded our island. The people of Kyoshi want no part in your stupid war. Give me one good reason not to execute both of you."

"Because I know Kyoshi!" Aang blurted out. Katara's eyes widened with surprise.

The man, though, wasn't amused. "Avatar Kyoshi has been dead for centuries." So that's how Aang knew her. He pointed to a worn statue of a woman wearing a similar outfit to the warrior girls standing next to him. "Don't take me for a fool."

"I know her because I'm the Avatar!"

The man seemed to consider Aang's claim. He sized up the boy like a piece of fresh seal meat, stroking his beard thoughtfully.

"You are an airbender?" he asked.

"That's me!" Aang said sheepishly.

"Then you should be able to escape those ropes without too much trouble."

Aang was, indeed, trying to worm his way out of his bindings. "I'm trying..."

"And failing."

"Just you watch!"

"Very well." He pointed at Katara. "Meiko, kill the other spy."

"No!"

One of the girls - Honestly, they all looked the same to Katara - gave a quick nod and approached menacingly. Katara tried to hold her head up high and keep a defiant glare as death stalked towards her, but she instinctively squeezed her eyes shut when she saw the executioner's chosen tools: two sharp, metal fans, one in each hand.

Her eyes flew open for a second time as the world around her exploded into a cacophony of angry shouts and horrified screams. Aang was suddenly in front of her, free of his bindings, two fans in his hand; the girl named Meiko lying unconscious far off on one side. Without skipping a beat, he brought the two fans together, unleashing a rush of air that sent the bearded man and his bodyguards flying back and knocked the crowd to their feet.

"No one is killing anyone today," Aang said firmly, though the noticeable tremble in his arms belied his tone.

The girls formed a protective arc around the bearded man as he carefully got back on his feet, drawing their swords. For a fleeting moment, he seemed genuinely concerned for his life. But the moment passed, and he...smiled?

"So you spoke truth," he said, his voice faintly tinged with awe. "You _are_ the Avatar!" The bearded man waved his warriors to stand down, and they sheathed their swords.

"Yeah...I am." Aang said, lowering his fans. He quickly turned back to Katara and cut her loose, catching her as she slightly stumbled.

"Thanks," she said.

"No problem."

"I am Oyaji, chosen leader of this island." The bearded man gave a deep bow, and the rest of his people followed suit. He motioned to his bodyguards. "These are the Kyoshi Warriors. We welcome your return, Great Savior."

"Now _you_ have a lot of explaining to do." Aang pointed a fan at Oyaji, his words and actions suddenly carrying the weight of countless lifetimes of experience. "Why did your warriors attack us? Why did you try to _kill_ Katara? And...where's Appa and Momo?"

Oyaji stroked his beard, in relief this time. "If you're referring to your animal friends, they were unharmed. As for the rest of your questions...perhaps over some food?"

And Aang was a boy again, rubbing his stomach with a grin of uncertainty. "Well, I _am_ pretty hungry..."

"Then come," Oyaji said with a smile, a friendly one this time. He gave his warriors a slight nod.

Two of the girls were suddenly at Katara's side, calmly untying her and tending to her bruises, as if they weren't ready to slit her throat just moments ago. She shooed them off angrily. "I'm not done with you, Oyaji," she said. "Where's Sokka?"

* * *

Sokka had never seen so much color in his life. Sure, there were patches of snow here and there, but there was also green and brown and some more green...

If he wasn't violently tumbling down the hill, he might have appreciated it more.

He scrambled back to his feet the moment he hit the bottom of the slope and scanned the dense surroundings. Did he lose them?

It was only thanks to his instincts and a touch of luck that he'd made it this far. Okay, maybe just luck. Katara and Aang were knocked out almost immediately, swiftly clubbed over the head by whatever those bandits were carrying. But Momo had warned Sokka just in time for him, and he beat down one of his assailants with a club as Momo viciously assaulted the other. Appa kept the rest distracted long enough for Sokka to figure out that his only choice was to run.

Something human darted between the trees in front of him. Of course he didn't lose them.

"You cane come out now!" he shouted, raising his machete at the shifting shadows. "I won't fight you. I mean, unless you attack me first."

A warrior in white and red face paint and an armored green dress slinked out from behind the tree and into the light.

No, a _girl_ stepped into the light. He lowered his machete.

"I am Suki, captain of the Kyoshi Warriors," she said. "My orders were to take you alive. _Preferably_."

Sokka wasn't quite sure how to react. Annoyed? Impressed? Embarrassed? Slightly aroused? "I'm Sokka," he said cautiously, suddenly remembering that he was only in his underwear. "Where's the men who attacked us?"

"There were no men." The girl pulled out two thin objects, and Sokka raised his machete again. He didn't like the idea of hurting some poor girl, but he wasn't going to let his guard down.

"Yeah, sure," Sokka scoffed. "Look, don't you have dance lessons you need to go to or something?"

"You made this personal, you know?" she said. "Here's the deal." She crouched into some sort of fighting stance and unfolded her weapons. "I'll only beat you _half_ to death."

Sokka shifted his stance. "I'm the best warrior in my village," he said. "I have a sword. You think I'm scared of fans?"

The girl smiled. And then she moved.

Sokka met her charge with his own, slashing down with his machete. But his opponent simply parried the blow with a fan - They were metal! - and cut into his right shoulder with another, and he hissed in pain as he stumbled to the ground.

"Best warrior, right," he heard her say from behind him while crawling to his machete. "What pathetic village do you come from?" Her shadow creeped over him.

Sokka pulled out his club and swung back. It missed, but it gave him enough breathing room to grab the machete and roll back to his feet.

"Water Tribe," he said between pained breaths.

"From the south?" The girl laughed. "No wonder. All your _real_ warriors were killed in those Fire Nation raids, right? And the rest ran like _cowards_ to hide in the Earth Kingdom."

Sokka lunged wildly at her with a roar, ignorant of the bleeding and the pain. She ducked under him and delivered two quick cuts to his legs before tripping him, his own momentum throwing him back to the dirt.

"Sloppy," she remarked, lazily fanning herself.

He tried to get back on his knees, but a hard kick to the stomach had him curled up in pain.

"Stupid..."

Pain, Dad had always said, had a strange way of filtering out the useless clutter, giving clarity to even the most frightening and confusing situations. He decided to focus the movement of her feet as she circled around her prey, waiting for just the right time to do...something. Maybe. He wasn't sure.

"Impotent little -"

If he wasn't so concerned for his life, he would've been smiling as he kicked against one of the girl's legs, the surprising force of the blow tripping her. He immediately grappled her to the ground, something he had had much practice with throughout his childhood thanks to Katara. Minus the choking, of course.

But the girl somehow managed to free one arm and slammed an elbow into his ribs, knocking the wind out of him again. She leapt to her feet and drew her sword.

Wait, she had a sword? _The entire time_? And it honestly was quite a pretty sword too...

"You had a sword the entire time!" he said. Why didn't she just use the sword from the start? Sokka found it mind-boggling, more so than the fact that he got his ass kicked by a girl. Or that he was about to die.

"That's it," she said angrily, raising the weapon over her head. "You're too much trouble."

"Stop!" Sokka's heart skipped a beat. Blood loss was really taking its toll now.

The girl paused as one of her comrades entered his blurry vision. "Suki, that boy was the Avatar!" Girl Number Two explained. Sokka decided that Girl Number Two was much prettier than Girl Number One. And smarter. With a better personality and more interesting quirks and hobbies. "This one's a friend! Is he hurt? We need to patch him up."

A pause. "Who are you to give me orders, Meiko?" One muttered, and Sokka heard a sword being reluctantly sheathed.

"I'm still your elder, _Captain_ ," said Two, "and it's Oyaji's orders. The boy lives."

Sokka nodded in half-conscious agreement the whole way back to the village.

* * *

Zuko stormed on to the bridge seeing blood red. Most of the crew was crowded around a table, eagerly watching Uncle crush a poor sap at a friendly game of Pai Sho.

"What is the meaning of this mutiny?" he roared. Some of the spectators instinctively leapt towards their posts, as if Zuko wouldn't notice if they moved quickly enough. He turned to the helmsman, the only man in the room who hadn't abandoned his post. "No one told you to change course!"

"Actually, someone did." Uncle slowly raised a hand, his eyes still focused on his game. "I assure you, it is a matter of utmost importance."

Zuko's fiery anger dropped down to a simmer. "Is it something to do with the Avatar?" he asked hopefully.

"Even more urgent," Uncle said, moving a piece on the board. "It seems, I...I have lost my lotus tile."

It took a few seconds for Zuko to digest Uncle's words, after which he punched the metal wall beside him. "You've changed our course for a stupid lotus tile!?"

"It is essential for an unusual strategy I employ." Uncle moved one last piece and greedily scooped the winning pot on the table before heading over to Zuko's side. Judging by the expressions of those around the table, Uncle had left his opponent with just the clothes on his back. "See Prince Zuko, you, like most people, underestimate it's value. Just give me a few minutes to check with the merchants at this port of call. Trust me, it will be worth your time."

Zuko waited for Uncle to exit the bridge before letting out an angry roar that singed the ceiling and filled the room with smoke.

* * *

Aang rubbed his hands in delight as he plopped down in front of the table of decadent treats. "Dessert for breakfast _again_?" he said in awe, stuffing his face with an orange-colored puff. Momo chittered in agreement, swiping Aang's second puff for himself. If it was anyone else, Aang might have frowned at the theft, but Momo was family now, so he kept his annoyance to himself.

Katara seemed a bit more reluctant, poking at the food with skepticism. He couldn't really blame her. These people were threatening to kill her two days ago, and now she was being treated like royalty! In all fairness, he should have been just as mad as she was!

He took a bite of a cookie with some sort of sugary, slightly sour filling. Except he wasn't.

"Katara, try this one!" He handed her a mushroom-shaped pastry.

She began nibbling on it. "Thanks, Aang. It's good."

Aang silently congratulated himself on a job well done. Now as for Sokka...

"You okay, Sokka?" Aang mumbled, his cheeks bulging with sweets. "You haven't been eating well since you came back."

"Not hungry," he muttered.

Aang threw up his arms. "But you're always hungry!" he said.

Katara snorted. "He's still upset that some girl kicked his butt."

"She got the drop on me!" Sokka said defensively.

"And _then_ she kicked your butt," Katara replied.

"She tried to _kill_ me." Sokka snatched a dessert off the table and stomped out the door.

Aang shrugged and fed Momo another puff. "I'm sure Sokka just needs time," he reasoned.

Sokka abruptly returned to shove another fruit pastry in his mouth and glare at Aang before storming off again.

"Don't get too comfortable, Aang," Katara said with a sigh. "They did try to kill Sokka. And me. I trust them now, but it's still risky for us to stay in one place for too long."

Aang peaked out the window behind him, watching the villagers cleaning and painting and dusting the massive statue of Kyoshi. Of the Avatar! "I'm sure we'll be fine!" he said cheerfully, and Momo chittered. "Besides, do you see how happy I'm making this town? I belong here..."

Katara didn't respond, forcing Aang to turn his attention back to her. "At least for a while," he quickly added.

"That's nice." She gave a small smile. "I hope it doesn't all go to your head."

"Come on, you know me better than that." Aang leaned out the window and looked down, immediately regretting his tacit promise when he noticed the crowd of adoring fangirls screaming for him. "I'm just a simple monk."

* * *

Sokka rubbed the single bandage wrapped around the cut on his shoulder as he approached the large house, deep in bitter and confused thoughts. He had had a whole day of bedrest after the fight to gather his thoughts, to figure out the next best course of action. This was it, as much as his pride hated to admit it.

Even now, he couldn't believe he'd been beaten up by some girl. In make-up. With _fans_ as weapons. In fact, he was in such disbelief that as he marched into the Kyoshi Warriors' main training room, he shouted, "I can't believe I got beat up by some girl!"

Six Kyoshi Warriors stopped their training in perfect unison to glare at Sokka.

They were all girls. No, it wasn't that he was annoyed, nor was he excited. It's just that... _they were all girls_.

"Um...Hey, Suki. Great warrior. Captain of...Kyoshi." Sokka's throat was suddenly very dry, his voice a hoarse whisper.

"Oyaji came by last night," Suki said loudly, a mocking twinkle in her eye. Sokka glanced at his bandage in shame. "He said you wanted some dance lessons." The other warriors giggled and snickered among themselves.

Sokka grimaced.

Then he sighed.

Then he dropped to his knees and lowered his head touched the floor. "I would be honored if you would teach me."

"Even if I'm a _girl_?"

"I'm sorry if I've insulted you." Surprisingly, Sokka meant it. Even more surprisingly, he knew that it wasn't really enough.

"We normally don't teach boys..."

"I know, but -"

"We usually _kill_ outsiders."

The room suddenly became deathly quiet. He raised his head to look Suki in the eye; the twinkle was gone. Her eyes were now cold and pitiless, like back in the forest. Was she seriously considering killing him now?

"Please make an exception," he begged. "I won't let you down."

The older girl from two days ago walked up to Suki and gently nudged her in the shoulder, eliciting an angry sigh. "All right," Suki agreed, and her eyes softened again. "But you have to follow all of our traditions."

"Of course," Sokka said.

Suki smirked. "And I mean _all of them_."


	7. The Warriors of Kyoshi

"The _Bai Tao_ arrived in our port just an hour ago," Iroh said.

"They're late," Zuko grumbled.

"The scout said they were delayed by a large sea serpent," Iroh said. "I am quite excited, honestly."

Zuko's eyes slightly widened. "Have they found the Avatar?"

"No." Iroh smiled. "But it's music night, and I heard that they have a fantastic erhu player on board their ship. I've already sent Kuro out of uniform to buy that nice flute that I saw the night before."

Zuko's eyes narrowed, and Iroh went back to meekly eating his pickled vegetables until he thought of something else to say. The loss of the lotus tile still weighed heavily on his mind. His heart ached every time he saw his incomplete set.

"They did, however, learn the location of Kyoshi Island. Apparently it's not too far from here."

"The home of the Kyoshi Warriors," Zuko said, faintly intrigued, and Iroh had to take a sip of his jook to hide his smile. "Are you sure, Uncle? I thought it was a myth."

Iroh shrugged. "That is a good question for Captain Jung."

"You know them better than anyone in the Fire Nation, Uncle. What are they like? Can they be convinced to join our cause?"

"Hmm...It is worth trying, perhaps, but I would be cautious. If they had one true loyalty, it would be to the Avatar. If anything, they'd help him..."

Zuko's hands pounded the table in excitement. "Kyoshi Island! That's where the Avatar is hiding!"

Iroh silently cursed at his own loose tongue. Back to this dreadful Avatar business. "I'm sure he's already long moved past this area by now."

It was then that the spirits decided to further torment Iroh, for Kuro slid open the door. He gave two quick bows and then said, "Apologies for interrupting, Prince Zuko, but I bring news of the Avatar. He is on Kyoshi Island."

"I knew it!" Zuko scrambled to his feet.

Iroh sipped his juke to hide a slight frown. "And you know this...how?" he asked skeptically.

"The entire market was talking about it, sir. I checked with multiple sellers. Oh, and here's the flute, General Iroh. It cost a gold piece; I think the merchant still suspected that I was Fire Na–"

"Never mind that!" Zuko snapped, already halfway out the door. "Uncle, get me Captain Jung. He's not getting away from me this time!"

Iroh pointed at his nephew's untouched fish. "Are you going to finish breakfast?"

Zuko snatched the plate off the table, briefly glaring at Iroh before running off again. "I was going to save it for later!" his voice echoed from down the hall.

Iroh shook his head and picked up the flute. "Kuro, do you know if anyone on this ship knows how to play this thing? Because I definitely do not..."

* * *

Aang was never planning on leaving Kyoshi. That it had taken five days for Katara to admit that was a testament to her gullibility and weakness.

He'd said he wouldn't let his newfound popularity get to his head. Promised it. And she trusted him! It was that disarming smile of his, those deceptive penguin eyes. Here she was, practicing her waterbending, keeping herself busy gathering supplies from the local markets, and there Aang was, spinning marbles, gliding through the sky, letting precious time fly by him like the wind while he entertained his posse of mindless fans with basic airbending gimmicks. Her blood heated up every time she imagined his stupid, grinning face.

So it was outrageous how much restraint she was placing on herself when she politely turned to Aang and asked, "Aang, can you help me carry this pot back to the room? It's a little heavy."

Aang waved off the pot of vegetables. "Actually, I can't right now," he said, glancing anxiously back at a crowd of little girls in the distance.

Katara's teeth slightly clenched. "What do you mean, 'you can't'?"

"I promised the girls I'd give ride the Unagi. I just came by to ask if...you wanted to come? It'll be fun!"

Katara went back to stuffing vegetables in the pot, throwing them in to the beat of her own pulsing frustration. Did she pay for those? Yes, no, did it matter? "Watching you show off for a bunch of girls doesn't sound like fun."

"Well, neither does carrying your pot," Aang said disappointedly. "The Unagi's pretty dangerous, you know? It's this big giant sea monster! I could get eaten!"

 _If only..._ Katara thought bitterly. "It's not _my_ basket. These supplies are for our trip. We can't stay here forever, Aang. I already told Sokka. We're leaving tomorrow."

"I don't want to leave Kyoshi yet. I can't put my finger on it, but there's something I really like about this place. I guess it feels like—"

"What's taking you so long, Aangy?" one of the fangirls shouted in the distance, hands on her hips in disapproval.

Aang waved back enthusiastically. "Just a second, Koko!"

"'Simple monk', huh?" Katara said sarcastically, slamming her basket down in front of a fruit stand. "You promised me that this Avatar stuff wouldn't go to your head."

Aang's lips drooped down for a moment before curling back up. "I didn't. Don't you wanna come explore the island with me? There's an awful lot of abandoned buildings in the forest to explore."

"Remember the Fire Nation ship?"

Aang paused, no doubt planning out a new angle of attack. "You know what I think?" he asked—as if she gave a damn. "You just don't want to come because you're _jealous_!"

" _Jealous_?" Katara's voice went up a pitch. "Of what?"

Aang took a step back but maintained a disgusting smirk. "Jealous that I'm having so much fun without you."

"That's ridiculous!" She could feel her cheeks warm in anger.

"It _is_ a little ridiculous, but I understand. I don't care if you come either way, I just thought..."

Katara raised her free hand threateningly but thought better of it. She grabbed the basket and stomped away. So the Avatar was going to risk his life to impress some girls? They still had a world to save! Didn't he care at all?

No, of course he didn't. He'd learned that the entire Air Nation had been wiped out a hundred years ago, but it just took him a couple days of free food to get over it. The Avatar was a child stuck in his own little world where nothing mattered. Just what the world needed.

She snuck a glance back towards Aang, only to catch him doing the same.

* * *

Sokka leapt across the room with unusual grace, as if simply wearing a dress and make-up made him naturally more girly and acrobatic. He couldn't decided whether to be proud or embarrassed at himself.

He finished his set with a downward slash of the fan before returning to a neutral position. "I think I'm getting the hang of this, Captain" he said.

The past few days had been almost surreal, training how to fight with fans in make-up and a dress. He'd never thought it was possible for a man to fall to such depths, much less enjoy the experience.

Suki smirked. "Still too rigid," she said.

Sokka's shoulders straightened. In a way, Suki's arrogance drove him. Her approval was something he believed unobtainable, and that was why he _had_ to have it. Just a small, non-backhanded compliment would be enough.

Suki pulled out her own fan and began demonstrating the drill to Sokka again. "With fans, it's not as much about your own strength." She began adding new movements here and there, little flourishes that turned the simple exercise into a mesmerizing, lethal dance. Her feet were both rooted to the ground and barely touching it; her body flowed naturally, yet each step was full of ferocity. "Your timing is correct," she said between grunts, "but your stiffness wastes energy. Fans are defensive weapons. Let your opponent strike first. Then use her own force against her."

Sokka flinched as she swung the fan towards him, stopping just short of his neck. "Once she's exposed—"

"Take him down," Sokka interjected excitedly, swinging his fan at the air in the process. "Um, Captain."

Her lips curled into an actual smile. "Try to go for the throat. Bloody, but it's probably the only guaranteed way to kill."

Sokka's own smile vanished, and he shifted himself in discomfort. A familiar bad feeling skittered around inside his head. He wasn't quite sure what it was. He was familiar with death, having seen his father fight those Fire Nation bastards up close. He was familiar with killing...well, killing animals at least. He was born with a warrior's spirit, like all men in his tribe. So just what was—

"There's no room for hesitation in battle, Sokka," Suki said softly, harshly. Was he being that obvious? "That is why we train. Conscious decisions must be reduced to instinct. To quote the poet—Hit me."

He swung his right fan at Suki upon hearing those last two words; she slid just out of his reach and grabbed his arm. All of it was reflex for Sokka at this point, though each time he was humiliated in a slightly different manner. She always seemed just barely out of reach, her blurred form grazing his fierce strikes, teasing him.

He felt a light tap on his elbow. "Close, actually.," Suki said. "But still too slow, and now you're down an arm.

Sokka was still checking his arm when she said "Hit me" again. He attacked; she parried, slicing at Sokka's neck at the same time. But he managed to avoid her countermove, ducking under it faster than he'd imagined possible and slamming an elbow into her gut. Her feet briefly left the ground.

The moment Suki hit the floor, Sokka realized he didn't know what to do next. Wait for her to get up? Run away? Say something snarky? Or maybe...maybe...

He realized what his body was doing, watching in horror an arm bring down a war fan like a club, as if it wasn't his own right arm and his own weapon. He curved his swing off to the side, sending the fan flying out of a window.

And then Sokka was instantly back where he belonged: face down on the floor under Suki's shadow, curled in painful defeat. "You hesitated," he heard her say. "Hesitating. You were hesitating."

"Yeah," Sokka groaned, flopping on to his back, only to curl back up again.

He caught Suki staring at him with an inscrutable expression, as if she was also deciding what to feel, but she quickly averted her gaze to the window. "Good throw," she said.

"Still got you..." He scrunched his face in pain. "Captain."

"We're done for today." She was already out the door.

He spread himself on the floor as the pain became more bearable, but it was only replaced by gnawing feeling of uncertainty. Was it the uniform? It really was rather tight in some places. Maybe he was just hungry?

"What's wrong with the Kyoshi Warriors?" he wondered out loud. Why did he just say that?

After a short eternity of pondering he finally got off his sorry butt and picked up his fan, only to toss them back to the floor. He needed answers. Answers to what was bothering him.

Really, what was bothering him?

* * *

The Kyoshi girl named Hiru twirled her hair as she scanned Sokka with a curious smile. "Medicine room is third building to the left, right there," she said. "Can't miss it."

"Thanks, Hiru," Sokka said.

She frowned. "It's Hiroe."

"Sorry," he said, shrugging off his embarrassment.

Hiroe frowned even harder. "You know, usually the Captain doesn't..." Her lips curled up in a way that made Sokka nervous. "Well, I guess it's _you_."

Sokka narrowed his eyes. What was she trying to say? "Yeah, it's...me."

Now it was Hiroe's turn to scrutinize. Whatever it was she found in his expression, she didn't think too much of it, as she simply snorted and walked away muttered something about boys. Sokka waited a few seconds before doing the same. Every girl on this island was just like damn Katara. Arrogant, mean, holding some sort of grudge against him. Every girl...

Suki was hunched over one of the sleeping mats, still in full uniform, dabbing the face of a girl with a wet cloth. Her patient seemed to be about her age, but it was hard to tell with the bruises and bandages covering her face. It wasn't the first time he'd seen someone so badly wounded, but they were all grown men. She was just girl.

He cleared throat anyways. "Hey, Su—"

It was only after Suki had his right hand's three middle fingers in death grip, forcing him to his knees in pain, that he was able to appreciate just how at peace and relaxed she was moments before.

"What?" she asked...well, growled.

"Captain!" he shouted. "I mean, Captain!"

Sokka. "No, moron," she hissed. The anger seeping into her voice reminded Sokka of their first encounter. "What are you doing here?"

"A question, you know? I was just wonder—" Sokka swore he heard a finger crack as she threw him to the ground. "You bi–...why would you _do_ that?"

For a brief moment, she looked ready to cut him open like a fish, and Sokka's right hand somehow managed to latch on to a small clay jug sitting beside him before fear completely froze him. In hindsight, not the great snap decision he'd ever made.

But something must've changed her mind, and she helped him get back on his feet. "I'm..." She shook her head. "What are you doing here?"

"To tell you that you're all crazy," Sokka murmured. He wiggled all his fingers, so amazed that they were still functioning that it took a couple seconds for him to realize that he'd actually forgotten why he was here. "All girls are damn crazy. Just thought I'd let you know."

Suki's expression hardened as she picked up the jug on the floor, swishing its contents around with some disgust. "Who sent you?" she asked accusingly. "Meiko?"

"No. What's that in the jar?

"Poison. Anyone know you're here?"

"Well I asked Hira for directions."

"Oh, Hiroe?" Suki's eyes darted between Sokka and the jug for a few seconds. Without warning, Suki took a sip from it, much to Sokka's horror. She made a face as she swallowed and half-placed, half-threw the jug off to the side. It landed upright, anyways.

"Suki, you just said that was poison!" He wanted to grab her and strangle her for her stupidity. Or save her, somehow. By strangling her? Why was he even here again?

Suki laughed, though not in a mean or sarcastic way like she usually did. "It's liquor," she said.

Sokka waited for her to elaborate. She scoffed. "Right, Water Tribe."

Sokka gave up after a few more seconds. "Can I have some?" he asked.

"I didn't say it wasn't poison." She picked the jug back up. "Bad for your mind, your focus. Kyoshi Warriors aren't supposed to dri—" She paused. "Don't tell anyone."

"Well maybe if you...let me..." Sokka swallowed the last few words back down, his boldness withering under Suki's glare. "So, um, why do you drink it then?"

"It reminds me of the past, you know," Suki said. She swished the jug around, as if doing so comforted her. "Like, you know, my..."

"Your parents", Sokka finished awkwardly. Stupid, stupid...

Suki's eyes focused on to him. She licked her lips, opened them, closed them. "You too?" she finally asked.

Sokka scanned the room for somewhere to sit. His legs were tired. He wanted to yawn. The back of his neck was itchy. "Just my mother," he said with a shrug. "My dad's...out there somewhere. The Fire Nation killed mom, so, you know..."

"I understand," Suki said. "I do, really."

Sokka rubbed an eye. Still dry, good. "Wait, is Oyaji your dad?"

Suki seemed to smile for just a moment before frowning. "No, no, my father also died. Uh, both my parents died to the war. Sort of."

And then Sokka suddenly remembered. "Your mother was a Kyoshi Warrior, wasn't she?" he asked. "The leader?"

Suki sat down on the floor and closed her eyes. "Not the leader, but a Warrior, yes."

Sokka did the same. "And they all went to fight the Fire Nation..."

"Yes. Oyaji ordered them not to, but..."

"But they haven't come back."

Suki let the silence answer for her.

That was why there weren't any grown women among the Kyoshi Warriors; they were all off fighting the war. Or dead. Sokka wanted to slap himself for not figuring it out sooner. But then how did she know—

Sokka screamed as a small hand latched on to his right arm, nails slightly digging into his skin. He turned to see the injured girl on the bed wide awake, staring at him with familiar, furious eyes. She made an effort to sit up and throw a quick jab straight for Sokka's face, but Suki deflected the blow.

"You!" the girl shouted, though she didn't resist as Suki roughly pinned her back to her mat. She was the one he managed to hit with his club a few days ago; he looked at the bandage that covered the left side of her face with a strange mix of pride and horror.

"I think you should leave," Suki commanded.

"Yeah, Su—" A different hand grabbed him, soft and cold and threatening. "Captain," he corrected.

It was only when Sokka saw the setting sun that he remembered what Katara had told him, and the thought of it made him groan. Leave? He'd just started making real progress in training with Suki. And there were still unanswered questions about Suki's past, the history of the island as a whole. Perhaps he should say goodbye to Suki now?

He noticed Hiroe lurking in the shadows nearby, huddled together with a small group of other Kyoshi Warriors, and they stared back at him, resenting his existence.

* * *

This was home, Aang thought as he slid aimlessly around in the cold ocean water on his back, half-swimming, half-gliding. This was it. This would be his new sanctuary, yes. He just needed a little more time to sort things out in his mind. Who knew, maybe the war would already be over soon. But if it wasn't, then, of course, he'd do something about it.

But that was serious stuff. Waiting for the Unagi, yes. He still had many friends on the shore in need of some fun. That would be his goal of the day: to ride the Unagi and make these lovely children happy. He was hoping Katara would come around, but it didn't seem like she was interested. She just didn't care, really, which hurt Aang a bit deeper than he wanted to admit. "Indifference is worse than hate," as Monk Gyatso liked to say...when he was...well...

Aang sank back a bit into the water and closed his eyes, listening to the gentle breeze. _"Hello, Aang,"_ it seemed to say, and Aang smiled, waving at the purple sky and falling orange sun.

" _You left us."_

Aang stopped waving, and the breeze hissed in disapproval. Cold water sprinkled his face, probably the fish that were starting to randomly leap in the air. Aang knew something was coming. Was it the Unagi?

" _Fool,"_ a wave suddenly roared, dragging Aang into the ocean. He quickly rose back to the surface and opened his eyes.

The sun had almost fully set; Koko and the others were nowhere to be found on the beach. How long had he been drifting like that? It'd gotten cold, too, and his teeth slightly chattered _in fear, like a coward._

"Stop!" he cried. He couldn't let the past weigh him down. The earthly chains of the past, as Monk Gyatso—

 _Was dead_. Aang let out a sob. Then he screamed at the sky. Then he sighed in disgust at himself. Then he sobbed a little again. It was an absurd cycle of emotions that didn't make the least bit of sense to him.

"They're all gone," he said softly. "The Fire Nation..."

"I have to do something about it," he countered.

"But I'm just a boy..."

"And...but...I'm also the Avatar!"

"Well I don't know what to do as Avatar..."

"Restore balance!"

"What does that mean?"

"Fulfill my duty!"

"But what is my duty?

"Deliver justice!"

"Or is it vengeance?"

A moment of clarity. "I made a mistake," he said calmly. "I made a mistake a hundred years ago. And now the Avatar has to fix it. _You_ have to fix it, Aang."

Aang wasn't alone.

"Aang!" The voice came from the beach. It was barely audible, , but still enough to break the dreadful spell he had put himself under.

He sighed in relief. "Katara!" he shouted back with all his breath, delighted. He began swimming back to shore. "You came!"

She said something about worrying and how late or dark it was. She did care about him, after all. Well, of course, there was never really a reason for him to doubt it, after all she and Sokka did for him, but he still felt compelled to stop and shout, "I'm sorry for letting it all get to my head. I was being a jerk."

"Well get out of the water before you catch a cold, you big jerk!" Aang quickened his pace. It was a bit of a shame that he didn't get to ride the Unagi, but he decided that it didn't matter, really.

Without warning, the water suddenly split, and Aang found himself on solid ground. Solid, _scaly_ ground, like a snake, with sharp fins running down the middle. The ground shivered a bit, and then it craned its long, snake-like neck around to reveal a snake-like face with two glowing green eyes and a pair of whiskers. Really, the Unagi was just one giant water snake, nothing too special. Aang decided that it definitely was not cool enough to ride. Aang also decided that it would be pretty cool if the Unagi turned out to be a vegetarian.

The Unagi roared as it swung to Aang's right, briefly revealing two rows of awfully sharp and pointy teeth before firing a powerful stream of water. Aang slipped behind one of the fins to shield himself from the blast. It occurred to him that he still hadn't come up with a plan to avoid becoming dinner. Small steps, small steps. So step one would be...he grabbed one of the Unagi's whiskers with both hands as its monstrous head lunged forward, snapping at him.

Aang flew back and forth across the air as the creature howled in disapproval at his bold move, and Aang screamed in sympathy while hanging for dear life; neither of them wanted to be in this situation, really. Why was that even step one? Swinging back and forth through the air was beginning to take its toll; he felt his focus slipping as everything around him began to make less and less sense.

A part of him was aware he had already let go when his mind finally entered the void.


End file.
